En Francais

[ceebeegee]

The weirdest--and coolest--thing happened yesterday. I was in a cab on my way to the way Upper East Side for Mickey's gig (note to Mickey--I love Bar East 'cause the drinks are cheap and it's a nice clean place but DAMN, it's out of the way for this West Harlemite! Pleeeease try to find a place more convenient on the 1 line). Sitting in the cab, I was thinking about what I'd posted yesterday, about speaking French and how I wanted to re-connect with that skill. Literally as I was thinking that--at that exact instant--I gradually noticed the radio was broadcasting in French. It took me awhile, as French doesn't sound THAT different from Spanish (some words are nearly the same) but I kind of shook my head. I leaned forward and said to the driver Parlez-vous francais? He turned around (we were at a light) and said Oui, je parle francais, et vous? He was thrilled; he had SUCH a smile on his face. We chatted a bit--I asked him if he was from Morocco (he had an Arabic name). He said no, he was from Nigeria. It was a little difficult to understand him because of course, his accent was African-French. He turned up the radio and I could follow some of it--he asked if I understood what they were saying, and I said it was about the presidential transition. We just had such a nice conversation, about the importance of travel, about Africa (he *really* seemed surprised that I'd been to Africa), about how you lose the language unless you keep using it and how French just isn't heard in this country the way Spanish is. Lots of smiles, lots of nods.

Two people who couldn't be more different. A black male cab driver from Nigeria and a WASP female American actor. We connected through the bond of language--we were just two people speaking the same language. We wouldn't have exchanged more than a few words if he hadn't been listening to that radio station.

I was thinking how this was another manifestation of the lesson you learn over and over again while studying the classics--people are all the same. Identity changes, circumstances changes, but people are all the same, all over--whether during the Trojan War or the Renaissance or now, whether in America or Nigeria or China--people are the same all over.

I was talking to someone today about it--I was in a reading of The Winter's Tale today (I was Paulina). One of the other actors was a Frenchwoman, and we chatted for a long time about the importance of language in cultural identity. She said you never lose the language, it just takes time to bring it back. I guess that's true, since I was able to understand a good deal of the radio broadcast, and that was a pretty dense topic. She also told me about some network French news broadcasts--I'll have to check those out.

Comments

[melebeth]

Sometimes when I am driving at night, up by my house, I end up with a station that I think is being broadcast from Quebec. The first time it happened, I'd been nodding along to the commentary about the HIV vaccine for 15 minutes before I realized the broadcast was in french. At which point I promptly stopped understanding nearly as much of it, because instead of absorbing I was listening. It's all somewhere in my head. It just works better when I don't try.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Yes! That is a very good point--after a point you must just let go and take it in. Your proficiency reaches a non-rational level where you're not translating, you're just in it.

[carlycouture.livejournal.com]

That is such a sweet story! I love it when you connect with someone you wouldn't expect. No matter what mood you are in when it happens you feel so happy.

Did you spend time in a French speaking place (France/French speaking Canada/etc.)?

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Not really--I studied it from 7th grade through my sophomore year in college. I was close to fluent by then, reading high-level literature and such, but I've lost a LOT of it. I did, however, visit France and French Switzerland a few times, and I spent 9 months on a cruise ship in the Western Med, where I was able to go aboard into Morocco many times.

[carasol.livejournal.com]

Ah, good. When I finally get around to translating No Exit, I'll know who to go to for help! ;-)

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I'm not at that level quite yet ;-)