Erasmus in France - best reason ever!

Guess which is the most sexy language in the world?!

Well, no surprise that French is right up there. A survey done two years ago by a hotel website canvassed thousands of travellers about the world’s sexiest language. French came out tops followed by Italian, which is understandable as it is so lyrical and expressive, and then curiously English, which has melodic qualities but it’s difficult to imagine it as being particularly romantic.

Advertising cashes in on our perception of the allure and romance of all things French -perfume, fashion, the landscape, wine, women and song. Remember Papa and Nicole in the Renault ad, or the one that put Cointreau on the world drinks map back in the 70’s?

Apart from a person’s looks and body language there is nothing quite so arresting as the way they speak. We must be have been programmed from primeval times to respond to the voice, either in a negative, positive or neutral way. When it comes to romance it is not only what you say but the way you say it. Someone speaking with a French accent has an added charm and it can be quite engaging to watch as it involves much more lip movement and facial expressions than English. You know the sort of thing - that cheeky little pout when the lips pucker up, the inclusion of the eyebrows to add emphasis, not to mention the shoulder shrugging and wild gesticulation of the fingers and hands. Quite a performance really.Oh là là!

So why it is so different? It if you want some of that Gallic charm you have to learn to imitate the sounds. The letters in the alphabet are the same but the pronunciation has a lot to do with the shorter vowels sounds and then there is the different pronunciation of the consonants. When someone learns English they have to learn that the vowels sounds vary in the length - compare the word “cat” with a short A sound to “car” with a long A sound. So when learning French you have to listen to the sounds and repeat them till you build up the in muscles in the tongue and cheeks to reproduce that sound. Of course “H” is never pronounced and if you can get your tongue round that that gorgeous guttural “R” sound you will be halfway there.

Learning to speak French is a real “Read my lips” experience. It’s hard to speak well if you don’t move your mouth. So if you want to add a bit of spice to your life learn from the experts and to quote those immortal lines in the Peter Seller’s film, There’s a Girl in my Soup,  “I ‘ope you ‘have ‘appiness all your life”.

Vive la difference!

Photos:

Ifalpes French Language School

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