Monday 19 November 2007

French Moment

I was thinking the other day about my French language skills, which are minimal, and I realised I recognize certain things instantly, and other it takes much longer then it should to figure out. The days of the week, which I have been taught in French every year since Kindergarten, I still have to count out on my fingers and think about for a long time before I can really connect them to the proper day in English. Numbers I can handle, and also directions, especially right and left. In French the word for directional 'right' is 'droite' and the word for directional 'left' is 'gouche.' As soon as I hear these French words I know what direction is being mentioned, it is an instant translation. I have always thought of it as the word 'right' ends in a 't' and the word 'droite' ends in a 't'. This trick has served me well for probably the last 19 years, as I was most likely taught these words in Kindergarten French as well. The real trick is not to think about it too hard and just go with it, because if you do puzzle over it, you will realise that the word 'left' also ends in a 't'.

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