French Language Now

French Language Wikipedia Page

Tex’s French Grammar A site put together by the University of Texas that is a fun way to learn French grammar.

Why Study French An information filled website explaining some of the many reasons to study the French language.

French Culture Official website of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

French Links A great list of links with an emphasis on media (French TV/radio/magazines).

TV5Monde The website of leading French television network, lots of video content and it’s all in French.

Images of France A list of sites and links for pictures of France.

Louvre What French site would be complete without a link to the most famous museum in the world?

Language Guide French A nicely done pictorial vocabulary site with audio pronunciations.

The ARTFL Project Extensive resources including English-French dictionary.

The French language, or La langue de Molière as the French call it, is one of the most impressive and elegant of all languages.  It is the language of class and culture and has an iconic status across the world.  It is not one of the most commonly spoken, however, and this adds to its charm and mysterious quality.  It is spoken by around 200 million people and is the international language of diplomacy.

The French language is a romance language and is thus descended from vulgar Latin.  It is part of this branch in the tree of languages and is quite different to English. Although we share many words with the French and have a good number of cognates, our language does not come from Latin.  This is why many people may find it difficult to understand and speak French at first, as it does take some getting used to.

Once you get used to the word order and pronunciation, you will be up, up and away.  Pronunciation of the French language differs from that of English in a few ways.  The letters are of course pronounced differently, but French words are not stressed unless they have an accent.  This can be difficult, but is easy to master.

Many parts of French grammar and verb usage are different to English and this can be a challenge at first, but there are many rewards to be had if you are one of the few people who learn to speak French.  French is a language that has given us much great literature and it is the uncontested king of literature in terms of the great masterpieces that have been written in the French language.

The great playwrights of Molière, Racine and Corneille paved the way for the age of enlightenment in the 18th century with the phenomenal Rousseau and Voltaire.  The French have always produced fantastic literature from these early master classes right through to the modern works of Camus and Sartre.  The French literary success hasn’t halted in the 21st century, either, with fantastic books such as L’élégance du Hérisson or Ensemble C’est Tout.

The French language is one of the most iconic and fashionable in the world.  It is such a shame that learning a language can be difficult at times and it’s a crying shame that there aren’t a few more French speakers around.  If you are one of these people then I would urge you to try the language for yourself.  It is a great tool for life in many respects and is also very alluring to the opposite sex.

If you want to learn a language, then I would recommend the French language for a variety of reasons.  It is much easier to learn than the oriental languages and it still has a modern influence.  It is a modern and relevant language, yet is still cultured and sophisticated.  The language of Molière is alive and as impressive as ever, so let’s not let it die out.

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One of the key mistakes that most French learners make is that they try to translate from English to French as directly as possible.  This is not correct and, with different word orders, this can ensure you fail to communicate properly.  So how can you go from English to French in a more authentic manner and how can you sound like a native?

You really must avoid the verbatim translation habits that many beginners get themselves into; these can mix your French up and make you sound really difficult to understand.  If you want to sound authentic then you must avoid these Anglicisms at all costs.  You can easily sound very silly if you use Anglicisms, as these will sound incredibly bizarre to the French.

To sound more authentic you have to think French. Instead of thinking about what you want to say and then translating it from English to French, you need to think in French and immerse yourself into the language. This seems difficult and perhaps the best way is to live in France, but this cannot always be practical or financially possible.

If you want to become fluent and make your French a little more French, you can learn using a more natural process.  There are many good resources that will help you become  fully immersed in the language without throwing you in at the deep end.  There are also many online courses that achieve this and which are very effective.  Since they are so effective, you can save yourself a lot of time, embarrassment and money.

These courses are interactive and thus afford you the opportunity to practice your language.  By thinking in French, you will get yourself into French mode and you will think like a French person.  This verbatim translation will soon be gone and your spoken French will be flowing and natural.  By practicing, you will also have the confidence to go and replicate this language in a French speaking environment.

If you are fed up with this English to French mentality and if you have suffered with it enough, then you should get yourself enrolled in one of these courses.  They can make a fast and vast improvement and prevent these silly mistakes from ruining your otherwise good French.  As long as you can ditch the translation mode then you will pick up more language and get the feel of it.  This is important and you mustn’t allow yourself to get into bad habits; you should set off on the right track to avoid time-consuming turnarounds as you learn how to go from English to French.

Many people think they can just translate from English to French in a verbatim manner and that this will just give them the fluency they desire.  They are 100% mistaken and you cannot do this if you want to learn to speak French in an authentic and fluent manner.  Keep your learning program natural and avoid the textbook approach. Those that learn from a textbook will fall into this trap more often than others and thus it’s a good idea to find yourself a good course to put you on the right track.

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