Que Sera Sera

The first thoughts that came to mind upon learning that sera is the third-person singular future tense of être were the lines of the song “Que Sera Sera” from the Hitchcock movie seen a long time ago.

I was quite sure that the words “que sera sera” was in French till a Facebook friend put the song on her wall. Just to confirm I checked up the Wikipedia and to my surprise I found that nobody is quite sure which language this is in. Spanish? Italian? Nah!

Given the confusion, I shall stick to my version that que sera sera is in French. Que = what; sera = will be. So, this becomes, “what will be, will be.” I think the confusion comes from the line of the song that follows que sera sera, which goes: “whatever will be, will be.” I like to think that the “ever” in “whatever” is there to get the rhyme properly. The last line of each stanza gets it right though: “what will be, will be.”

Here enjoy the song:

The only problem with my version of que sera sera? The pronunciation of the word 'que' is French is not 'kay'. Oh well, Hollywood might have got it wrong!

Learning From Copyright Statements

Apparently one cannot use the material contained within the Tintin comics even for a blog like mine. Not that I intended to scan and reproduce the whole story in my blog.

But you know what? There is always something to learn even if it is a copyright statement, as long as it is written in French (I have highlighted words or phrases that are learning points):

Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. Il est strictement interdit, sauf accord préalable et ecrit de l'editeur, de reproduire (notamment par photocopie ou numérisation) partiellement ou totalement le présent ouvrage de le stocker dans une banque de donnée ou de le communiquer au public, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit.

This translates word for word into:

All rights reserved for all countries. It is strictly prohibited, except agreement prior and written of the editor, to reproduce (especially by photocopy or scanning) partially or totally the present work to store it in database or to communicate to public, under any form and manner whatsoever.

I wonder what they will do to prevent me from quoting extracts from a book that I paid for, especially when torrents of the scanned copies of Asterix and Tintin float all around the Internet - a cease and desist order, followed by a lawsuit?

Useful French Vocabulary

Here are some of the vocabulary that I needed during my recent trip to Belgium and France. These are not readily available in any phrase book, but can be easily constructed using your existing vocabulary.

Où est la pizza que j'ai commandé? – where is the pizza I ordered?
Quel est le nom de la station suivante? – what is the name of the next station?
La prochaine station est Liège? – Is the next station Liège?
Le train aller à Liège? – Does this train go to Liège?
Quand est le prochain train pour Liège? – When is the next train for Liège?
Le ticket est valable pour ICE aussi? – Is the ticket valid for ICE also?

Quand vous allez devenir un docteur? – When will you become a doctor?

The query regarding Pizza was needed in a small but very comfortable hotel in a tiny town in France. This hotel did not have its own restaurant, but placed an order to a nearby Pizzeria on request. I needed the rest of the language during my frequent train trips within Belgium.
The last question was addressed to a young girl who was reading probability and Statistics, and claimed that she was studying to become a doctor.
"10 years," was the answer.
10 years???
I think there was some miscommunication here.

Trust and Mutual Respect

This cold, wet morning I saw notice on the train to Liege, the last line of which should be made the standard for all humanity to imbibe. And it goes like this:

Ne vous asseyez pas sur la courtoisie. Laissez votre place à ceux qui ont le plus besoin. Le respect mutuel, c’est classe.

What do you think?

At the bottom of 'mutual respect' lies trust. I witnessed this first hand the evening. Yesterday, I went to the world famous Belgian Comic Strip Centre in Brussels. Apart from the small figurines of Tintin, Capt. Haddock, Asterix and Obelix, I also picked up two Tintin comic book in French. This evening, after a rather tiring day, when I turned to read them, I discovered - to my utter horror - that only one, Le Secret de La Lircorne (The Secret of the Unicorn, in English) was in French. The sequel I picked up without much thought turned out to be in Spanish. I almost ran to the Comic Strip Centre (I was not sure when it would close) and explained to the lady at the caisse that I wanted the book in French. She did not bat an eyelid, nor did she demand to see the receipt. She smiled; she went to the racks and got me the one I wanted. And what's more, it turned out that Le Tresor de Rackham Le Rouge (The Red Rackham Treasure, in English) is cheaper in French. She returned me the change and bade me farewell. What a pleasant experience.

Now that is trust and mutual respect in action.

Your French Is Very Good

I just finished having one of the most delicious lunches of my life in a small French restaurant called Fleur de Sel. And I ended up impressing my host.
As our waitress struggled to explain the menu to me, I wanted to make it very clear that I can have everything except beef (nothing religious, I just don’t like the smell – the same way I cannot stand fish because of its smell.) So all I said was “sans viande”. And in all the chatter to decide the menu (French take food very seriously), the head of the department picked up what I said. After the waitress retreated, he turned to me and said, “Your French is very good!”

Sometimes all you need are a few well timed words.

First Genuine French Conversation

Finally I got my chance to have a complete, not a bit artificial, French conversation.
That’s the advantage of visiting tiny towns in France. You are unlikely to bump into many English-speaking people. My taxi driver who drove me from Lorraine TGV to Hambach did not know a word of English, and this is how the conversation went …
Amitabh: Je voudrais aller à Hambach.
Taxi Driver: Bon!
A: Ce sera combien?
T: … (could not catch) … cent vingt.
A: 120! Hmmm… C’est loin d’ici?
T: … (could not catch) … quatre-vingts kilometres
A: Combien dur le trajet?
T: … (could not catch) … une heure.
After that I left him undisturbed for about an hour, after which he discovered that he had overshot the exit. Then he switched on the navigator and found his way back.
T: Pas facile… pas facile … pas facile …
He went on and on and on.
The bill came to about 150 Euros, but he took only 130 Euros, because it was his fault.He should have switched on the navigator before.
A: J’ai besoin d'un reçu.
T: ok.
A: Merci. Bonne soiree.
T: Au revoir. Bon soir.
Just then a strong gust of wind blew the proof of hotel reservation from my hands and I had to run some 10 metres after it before I could retrieve it.

Breakfast Newspaper

There is no end to innovation. As I was entering the breakfast room of my hotel in Belgium, I chanced upon something called Good Morning News. It is a one A4 size paper with summary of international and national news. Just ideal for reading something while you are having your breakfast.

How is it possible to summarize international and national news in one A4 size paper, you might wonder. Well, it is like this. The newspapers (newssheets?) are country specific. The one shown below is called Good Morning News France. There are others, that go by similar names: Good Morning News United Kingdom, Good Morning News Italia, etc.

I, obviously, picked up Good Morning News France. And to show how news is covered I reproduce one news item:

AFRIQUE DU SUD: Les négociations marathon de Durban sur le climat ont débouché, dimanche à l’aube, sur une feuille de route vers un accord en 2015 englobant pour la premiere fois tous les pays pour lutter contre le réchauffement.


That’s it. Short and sweet. Now, chances are that if you have just started learning French, your mind will go blank and you would have skipped the text as you read this blog. But, if you are serious in your attempt to learn the language, you will revisit the news item and notice that there are familiar words in the text. I have reproduced the text below, but this time some common words highlighted in Blue.

AFRIQUE DU SUD: Les négociations marathon de Durban sur le climat ont débouché, dimanche à l’aube, sur une feuille de route vers un accord en 2015 englobant pour la premiere fois tous les pays pour lutter contre le réchauffement.

And if you are aware that Climate Negotiations were on in Durban, then you know exactly what the news item is about.

Learning a new language needs perseverance.

Here, read a sample of the Good Morning News France and increase your French Knowledge.

Creamy Cheese

Breakfast?
Try Crème de Brie.
This is a soft white creamy cheese that takes its name from Brie, a region in northern France.

Reading Multi-Language Signs in Hotels

While travelling abroad most hotels have notices in multiple languages. Since the context is clear, this, then gives you an opportunity to learn new words and test your existing knowledge. The trick, however, is to *not* read the information in English first. Rather block everything off and focus on French. Here is an example …

I actually learnt a few new words here:
Geste - gesture
Inutilement - uselessly
Veuillez - please (I saw this word in many notices and was not aware that there is another way of saying please apart from s'il vous plaît.)

Aishwarya Giving French Lessons

I believe I have discovered the perfect way to learn French - in small bites and from the lips of one of the most gorgeous women in the world, Aishwarya Rai.

Here are a couple advertisements from L’Oreal featuring Ash speaking French. See how many French words can you pick up.

Delightful way to learn French, won't you agree?

Now, you may not like Ash (many don't, I wonder why.) So, pick up your favourite personality and see if he/she has done any adverts in French and enjoy!

PS: Now I know what "You are worth it" is in French: "Vous le valez bien."

Top 10 Most Commonly Used French Verbs

I am a firm believer of the old Indian system of learning by rote - the basics must be memorized. By heart. Something like the multiplication tables. And I don’t care what the new educationists say about this. They say that intelligence is the ability to correlate disparate elements. Fine. But how would you make these connections unless they are in your head already? I am all for understanding concepts and applying them. But first memorize what is essential.

And so I decided to memorize the conjugations of the 10 most used verbs in French. Here’s the list:

être – to be
avoir – to have
faire – to do
dire – to tell
aller – to go
voir – to see
savoir – to know
pouvoir – to be able / can
falloir – to be necessary
vouloir – to want

And here’s the link to the conjugations. Go ahead and learn these, if you wish to master French.

Isn’t it amazing that every one of these most used verbs in French is irregular? Tells you a lot about how the human mind works.