First, we have English language courses from the Wall Street Institute, a French company. That's all well and good, but for a reference to a decidedly American institution, why does this delightful woman have a British flag on her tongue?
This, though, is the ad that I really love.
This ad for letudient.fr asks if you're sure about your chosen profession. The "French" reads:
Je voudré être écrivin pck j'adore écrire, c une vré pasion.Here's roughly how I would translate that to English:
I wud like to be a riter cuz I love writing, it a reel passion.That's bad enough, but if you look closely on the image in the lower left, you'll notice that the book is entitled "tuilaïte". Is that word even French? I've no idea, but if you pronounce if phonetically (in French) it sounds an awful lot like Twilight :)
what a beautiful spelling for a future writer !
ReplyDeleteLove it !
ReplyDelete"why does this delightful woman have a British flag on her tongue?"
ReplyDelete2 possible explanations :
I know it sounds stupid but for many French people : American people speak *English*...
Furthermore, for many of us, English accent (the academic one, we've been taught at school) is less "scary" than American one (much more difficult to understand)
Note: You're entirely right, there's no French word similar to "tuilaïte"...
I've been working hard on my French since moving here two years ago, and those ads where words are written incorrectly, not to mention French friends writing the same on Facebook are doing my head in! I'm so confused!
ReplyDeleteSara, I have similar frustrations with my US friends who insist upon "riting lik dis" even though they know how to spell correctly. Not only does it bug the hell out of me, my French friends struggle to read it.
DeleteSome people just don't want to communicate.
I gues you and I are on the same "page".
ReplyDeletehttp://deloryswelchtyson.blogspot.com/2011/03/does-sun-still-not-set-on-bristish.html
Have a nice day!
That's hilarious :) Maybe only Americans pick up on this?
DeleteMaybe she has a British flag because the advertised institution offers the Certificate in Advanced English (CAE), administered by the University of Cambridge (UK).
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying your blog.
ReplyDeleteI think Wall Street Institute was actually started in Italy. Italians love American or British names for their English language schools.
These days American English is fast becoming the dominant business and pop culture language...but many Europeans learnt British English at high school and - rightly or wrongly - consider it to be the correct form of English, a more complex English.
Friends tell me the Wall Street Institute material is geared toward American English. I suppose they stick a Union Jack flag on their stuff to pull in those who prefer British English. Most students don't really know what's American and what's British anyway.
Cheers!