You couldn’t make it up!

[JBR]

November 03, 2025, 10:58:39 AMNor did I. They refuse to understand even slightly mispronounced or grammatically incorrect French. I think we try to help most foreigners trying to speak to us but the French seemed to me to despise us.

That is true, certainly in Paris and other cities.  We have driven from North to South, stopping half-way for the night, and found a friendly farm who accommodated us.  He even let us put our car (with two bikes on the back) in his barn.  We tried to speak French; he tried to speak English: we got along very well.

I think that the ones who pretend not to understand us are likely to be those in city areas.  Why?  Perhaps they think that we should have remained under their rule, as in the EU.  I suppose that contrary to us showing them up in the war, they would feel happier if they could control us!  🤣

[muddy]

True enough money doesn't grow on trees anymore. They've moved over to printing it on plastic instead of paper. Even that isn't the real explanation of where it comes from. It initially  comes from Bank of England government bonds which may still be on bits of dead tree or could be entirely digital theses days.

November 03, 2025, 10:58:39 AMNor did I. They refuse to understand even slightly mispronounced or grammatically incorrect French. I think we try to help most foreigners trying to speak to us but the French seemed to me to despise us.

Just scream Sacre Bleu ! 
Or alternatively 
j' taime 🙂

[ansu]

Pupils in Germany start learning English already in elementary school and some even in the kindergarden. 
In High School they often can choose between Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and lately even Chinese (in some schools).
As to the French they prefer Spanish or Italian to German and their knowledge of English often is a bit poor - sorry.
In Spain they offer English courses to the locals during the winter months (in regions visited by tourists). 
Germans don't have many problems with the English - the grammar is similar. However, many Germans have problems with the French grammar. 

[JBR]

Pupils in Germany start learning English already in elementary school and some even in the kindergarden.
In High School they often can choose between Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, and lately even Chinese (in some schools).
As to the French they prefer Spanish or Italian to German and their knowledge of English often is a bit poor - sorry.
In Spain they offer English courses to the locals during the winter months (in regions visited by tourists).
Germans don't have many problems with the English - the grammar is similar. However, many Germans have problems with the French grammar.

This is all very interesting.  Having been in both French and German lessons when I was in grammar school, I hated the French (largely due to the nasty teacher) but really took to German (again probably because of a very good teacher).  Quite apart from personalities, I found (as you mentioned) German to be much more related to English and consequently easier to learn.  Marge and I have been on holiday to Germany two or three times, and we both found it to be a friendly and welcoming place.  The other benefit being that Germans know or are able to understand English to a good level, and seemed to understand my efforts at German!

[Dextrous63]

That, plus you were interred in Colditz for 5 years.

[JBR]

One would imagine that German, having three different gender versions of the word 'the':  Der, Die and Das, is that if they encounter an object of which they had never seen or heard about before, I wonder which gender of 'the' (or 'a' for that matter) they would use.

If our German friend Ansu is reading this, which would you normally use?

[klondike]

I wonder how the trans community get on with that.  IIRC it is das Mädchen so maybe that makes this sort of stuff easier for them 

[Michael Rolls]

advice, many years ago, from our  French master.
If you  approach  a market  and want an orange, but can't remember the French for orange, buy an apple. If you can't remember whether it is le pomme, or la pomme, buy two apples!

[klondike]

Those problems don't occur for foreigners needing fruit here. They can just steal it 

[Michael Rolls]

true

[muddy]

I was kicked out of the top French group at school because of  terrifying French teacher .
It was a good move the next teacher was kind and suddenly French wasn't bad at all .
A good teacher makes a world of difference .
And when in France I thank that man .

I speak fluent Spanish and a smattering of other languages as wherever I have lived on the world I have always tried to learn something of the language .

[Mups]

I was kicked out of the top French group at school because of  terrifying French teacher .
It was a good move the next teacher was kind and suddenly French wasn't bad at all .
A good teacher makes a world of difference .
And when in France I thank that man .

I speak fluent Spanish and a smattering of other languages as wherever I have lived on the world I have always tried to learn something of the language .

I totally agree with that.    
A good teacher makes the world of difference to our learning.

[Dextrous63]

That's me told then.  😢😢

[JBR]

I wonder how the trans community get on with that.  IIRC it is das Mädchen so maybe that makes this sort of stuff easier for them 

Yes, you'd imagine that the Germans had foreseen this hundreds of years ago.
Ein Mädchen (neuter) now seems to have every right to decide whether to become eine Frau or ein Mann.

[Michael Rolls]

Lovely cartoon from Matt today. Convict talking to prison officer. ' we had planned a mass breakout, but the others were released accidentally'