Does Anyone Here Speak English?

Article by: Chris Pitts, October 2007

English speakers love to think that the French don't, or won't, speak English. In fact, French speakers love to think exactly the same thing of the English, even though they know it's not true. Everyone seems to know someone else's cousin or neighbour who's been to France and had a mortifying experience trying to communicate with a waiter or cashier. But those are times past. Much to the horror of the rigid Académie Française, which has kept a tight control on the development of the French language throughout the centuries, the English-language invasion has officially begun.

'Foun, you know, I lake, uh, tu have, uh, foun'. I stopped twirling my fork and pondered the sentence. He was saying 'fun'.

In much the same way Anglophones casually toss out a French expression in the midst of conversation to prove their sophistication, English words such as 'cool' and 'marketing' have recently become part of the standard French vocabulary. The trouble is, most of us wouldn't know it, because these words are rendered all but incomprehensible by French pronunciation or, stranger still, French verb conjugation.

The other day at lunch, while discussing favourite seafood delicacies (in this case sea urchins), my friend Julien resolutely declared, 'Ah, c'est très foun, ça.' I had been following the conversation fairly closely up to this point, but at the word 'foun', I had to stop and ask him what he meant. 'Quoi?' I ventured.

'What, you don't understand English?!' he demanded. I gave him a puzzled look. He persisted. 'Foun, you know, I lake, uh, tu have, uh, foun'. I stopped twirling my fork and pondered the sentence...then it dawned on me. He was saying 'fun'. 'C'est fun'. Of course. I smiled politely, but deep down I found the whole exchange kind of weird.

I've since pricked up my ears and noticed a surprising number of English words gallivanting into all sorts of conversations. In a radio interview, Audrey Tautou, co-star of Amelie and The Da Vinci Code, discussed one of her films as 'comme un thriller' (tree-luhr). And my mother-in-law is constantly wandering around exclaiming 'C'est strange', (sstrainj-e) whenever she encounters something she doesn't understand. Jogging and smoking (jug-eeng, smoke-eeng), when used in French sentences, turn out not to refer to these well-known leisure activities, but rather to articles of clothing.

English vocabulary, seems to be infiltrating the French language in a decidedly American fashion: that is, by way of hip-hop, Hollywood and business.

French words began filtering into the English language mostly through literature, art, fashion and cooking - essentially through the English aristocracy's Norman roots. English vocabulary, on the other hand, seems to be infiltrating the French language in a decidedly American fashion: that is, by way of hip-hop, Hollywood and business.

Four Laotian-born Parisians recently introduced me to a collection of great expressions, pulled straight from the lyrics on the inside of a CD cover: Elle est fly. C'est ta life. J'ai le blues. C'est un hold-up. And French white-collar workers are always stressés because of leur job, but at least they get to faire un break during le week-end.

The crème de la crème, though, has got to be 'budget'. 'Budget' has attained a particularly special status, as it is derived from the old French for leather purse (bougette), which was adapted into English in the 15th century, where it meant wallet or pouch. It was subsequently forgotten in French, evolved into its current definition sometime in 18th-century England, and was finally reintroduced into present-day French, this time by corporate America.

But even with all this language swapping, the French don't appear to be going down the cultural slide anytime soon. The local pastry shop will still feign incomprehension if you call your pain au chocolat a 'she' instead of a 'he', and your waiter will still be truly confused if you order only an entrée (appetizer), mistaking it for the main course. But now, at least, you can smooth matters over by saying, 'C'est cool, c'est cool. Tout est okay'.