French is Hard!

I’m going to Europe next year, so I’m trying to gain at least a vague understanding of the languages of the countries I’m going to — this would include French, German, and Italian.

Frankly, it’s always a good idea to have at least a passing knowledge of languages of countries you travel to. That way, if you’re in a bind or on your own in an unfamiliar city, you can at least read signs or ask for directions.

I’ve learned about three words in Italian so far, but it seems to be similar enough to Spanish that I will eventually get the hang of it. I haven’t touched German yet, so I can’t really speak to that.

French, however, is impossible.

Reading French is not the hardest thing in the world, especially because I know a bit of Spanish and Latin, and it is very easy to see the differences between singular and plural words, whereas when you’re speaking and listening, they sound the same in many situations.

For instance, il and ils (“he” and “they”) sound exactly the same when followed by a consonant. Thus, il mange (“he eats”) and ils mangent (“they eat”) sound exactly the same, even though they are spelled differently.

The other issue I face is that not all of the letters in French words are pronounced. Like des femmes mangent (“women eat”) is pronounced “de fom monj.” The “s” in des, the “mes” in femmes, and the “ent” in mangent aren’t pronounced, which makes it impossible for me to remember how to spell things.

So far, I’m having a heck of a time with French, but I’m going to keep working hard, and maybe in a month, I’ll be able to speak real words and write a sentence all by myself!