Mango Languages

Living in France: Ma Familleaixoise

Leaving my family and friends to study in France for 6 months was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I tried to make that sound as believable as possible – did it work? Studying abroad meant traveling as much as possible, living in a country that considers food a form of art, and basking in the Mediterranean sun on a daily basis. Since I knew I would be coming home at the end of my séjour, leaving the good ole’ US of A wasn’t the hard part.

However, stepping on that plane in Marseille headed for Detroit after a life changing semester was a completely different story. This was evident in my full-fledged panic attack that ensued as soon as the plane landed – don’t worry, the stares from fellow passengers stopped after a few minutes. Don’t get me wrong, I was overjoyed to see those whose faces, hugs, and laughs I had missed in the previous months (not to mention beyond thrilled at the prospect of sleeping on a real mattress instead of the glorified piece of foam provided by my dorm). More than that, however, I was devastated at the thought of leaving all of the incredible friends I made during my time abroad.

When I first arrived in Aix-en-Provence, I thought it would be a matter of days before I was hob-nobbing with French students over wine and cheese. It took only a few minutes before reality slapped me in the face and I realized that my French skills were nowhere near that level of sophistication. It was much more difficult to make friends than I had thought. I was stumbling over my words and unable to express myself in a foreign language. Answering their questions was difficult enough, let alone trying to show any sort of humor that really reflected my personality.

Within time, however, I stopped worrying so much about my pronunciation or incorrect grammar and focused on something much more basic and exponentially more important – communication. I quickly realized that if I tried to resist speaking until I mastered the French accent or figured out how to properly use the subjunctive verb tense (neither of which I still do correctly), I would never make any friends. I also learned that these imperfections in my speaking actually spurred conversations with others. Where are you from? What inspired you to take French? Is this your first time in Europe? The occasional “you speak excellent French!” never ceased to put a smile on my face, no matter how big of a lie it was. Additionally, I encouraged people to correct me when I made an error. While slightly uncomfortable for them at first, this is what helped me the most and put me the most at ease in speaking with my peers. While they corrected my French, I provided the same service with their English.

Because nearly 1/3 of Aix-en-Provence is populated by students, most of my friends there were, in fact, not even French, but rather students studying abroad from all over the world. My best friends were from Romania, Slovakia, Algeria, and Scotland, amongst many other places I never even dreamed of visiting. Though we all spoke different native languages, French was the common factor. If not for this passion for foreign language, I would have missed out on getting to know this group of people that changed my life forever.

When you are thousands of miles away from everyone and everything you know, your friends play a different role in your life. They become your family as well. Together we cooked dinner every night, traveled, hung out in the park, studied (who am I kidding?), hung out and, most importantly, learned from each other. These friends truly became ma familleaixoise. Because of them, my experience in France was truly a cultural exchange. Through our conversations in French, I learned about traditional marriage practices in Algeria as my friend Youcef’s sister planned her wedding and from my friend Tomas, I discovered that it is common practice in Slovakia to recognize your “name day” with celebrations similar to that of a birthday (mine is May 6, in case anyone wants to send a gift).

Living so far away has made it difficult to stay in as close of contact as I would like, but thanks to the advent of programs like Skype and Facebook, we are still able to keep tabs on each other’s lives, see each other’s faces and most importantly, speak to one another (en français, biensûr)! As a French major and avid lover of foreign languages, I always recognized the benefits of language learning, but it wasn’t until I lived in France that I truly understood the importance. I could have easily surrounded myself with the other American students and stayed within my English comfort zone, but I chose to put myself out there. Was it easy? No. Did I humiliate myself? Endlessly.  But do I regret it? Not for one second.

It’s Fat Tuesday!

Happy Mardi Gras Everyone!

This Tuesday we celebrate Mardi Gras which is French for “Fat Tuesday.” This day is celebrated before Ash Wednesday,  also known as the last day before Lent in the Christian calendar. The name “Fat Tuesday” comes from the tradition of eating rich foods made with, butter, sugar and other fats and meats.  This cultural holiday includes popular traditions such as wearing masks and costumes,  dancing, sports competitions, parades, etc.

Mardi Gras is celebrated in many different ways all around the world, making it a very unique and an international holiday. Some traditions consider Mardi Gras as the whole period of celebratory activity, beyond just a single day. Some of the cities that Mardi Gras is considered a big celebration are, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Barranquilla, Colombia, Sydney, Australia, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Quebec City, and many more.

In the United States Mardi Gras, or “Carnival” as some people call it, is most famous for the party that the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, hosts every year for the celebration. In 1857 parades were hosted and the lavish creation of floats became a yearly tradition. The “Krewes” were formed and exist to this day as organizations that build floats and throw beads and other gifts to the crowd during the Mardi Gras parades.

People travel from all over the world to New Orleans to experience the celebration of Mardi Gras.

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras? If so, what traditions do you follow?

Now There’s Even More Mango to Love!

From the our new website, and new product features, to new courses and languages, the Mango elves have been very busy around here.What are we celebrating this fine, foggy, Friday? We have just launched an additional 9 language courses!

What are the new language courses? Well, I’m glad you asked:

Farsi Complete 2.0

ESL French Complete 2.0

ESL German Complete 2.0

ESL Greek Complete 2.0

Hebrew Complete 2.0

ESL Italian Complete 2.0

Korean Complete 2.0

ESL Korean Complete 2.0

Vietnamese Complete 2.0

In the spirit of the new language courses, here are some fun facts:

-Did you know that Farsi is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and many other countries?

-Do you know how to say, “coffee with milk” in Vietnamese? (‘Ca-phe sua’- which has a lovely flavor, but beware… Vietnamese style coffee is strong!)

-The Italian language evolved from the Latin of the Roman Empire.

-Hebrew, a Semitic language, is one of the oldest languages in the world.

You learn something new everyday!

We are so excited about all these new courses! Now you can travel to France, Germany, Vietnam, Israel, Iran, Italy, Greece, Korea and many other amazing travel destinations and be able to communicate with the locals!

Which language/s are YOU excited to learn?

It's Not Only What You Say, But Also How

Good Morning Mango Fans!

Last night, I was motivated to improve the little bit of French that I know, and decided to drive in the world of Mango, in French.  I was interested in learning about the etiquette, culture, and vocab when it comes to restaurant outings.  I got to chapter six, lesson 41, slide 7, which was about un plat principal, the main course.  I read the phrase a few times, heard the narrator say it, and memorized it. Each time I said the phrase to myself, I pronounced the phrase louder and louder, feeling confident with my French accent.  I was ready to test my pronunciation skills with narrator using the “voice compare” feature.   As I recorded myself saying “un plat principal” as clearly as I could and played it back along with the native speaker for the 4th time, I realized what I was trying to do.  Why did I want to record and play my pronunciation back over and over again? I was trying to perfect my French accent. I then started to ponder, about accents, specifically English accents…

There are many countries in which English is the native language, yet in all of these countries English sounds very different because of the accent.  In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation of a language.  Accents are not only phonetics, but they are an identity.  There are two types of English accents widely spoken in the world today; they are the General American English and the Received Pronunciation (RP), also known as the Queen’s English.  In North America, the interaction of people from many ethnic backgrounds contributed to the formation of the different varieties of North American accents (making up a Boston specific accent and one that is specific to Texans).

Looking back at history, it is difficult to measure or predict how long it takes an accent to formulate.  Accents in the USA, Canada, and Australia, for example, developed from the combination of different accents and languages in various societies, and this had effects on various pronunciations of the British settlers.  Yet North American accents remain more distant, either as a result of time or of external or “foreign” linguistic interaction, such as the Italian accent.

The accent does indeed provide the identity of the country to its native language.  When we hear American being spoken, we associate it with the United States and when we hear someone speak with a British accent with think of England.  Learning the vocabulary, grammar, and use of a language is very important; however practicing the correct accent allows you to indulge in the identity and history of the language and its native country.

Realizing this, I kept practicing, putting the “voice compare” feature to full use.  Un plat principal … u(n) pla pri(n)seepal.

The more I practiced my French accent the more connected I seemed to feel to the French culture.

Next phrase: Comme plat principal, je voudrais le plat du jour (As a main course, I’d like the plat du jour).

They say practice makes perfect… or so I hope.

Flowers & Demonstrations-the French way to celebrate Labor Day

May 1st is a holiday widely celebrated in France and all across Europe.  Oddly enough, although it is not celebrated in the States, it is a tribute to the workers of Chicago who protested in 1886 asking for an eight-hour work day.

Perhaps in order to avoid bringing more attention to the history of May 1st, the US government decided that Labor Day would be celebrated in September.

Meanwhile, it was celebrated in France and became a public holiday in 1947.  As Americans celebrate their Labor Day with a family reunion around a barbecue, in France May 1st is more like a day to relax and sit at a table outside a café to enjoy the lovely weather at that time of the year.  In Paris, May 1st is the official “contestation day,” and the workers do their annual march to the Bastille in a rather friendly atmosphere–we all know how much French people love doing that!

The other thing that you will notice is the little white flowers called Lily of the Valley or muguet – sometimes we just called them “little bells of the woods” or clochettes des bois for their resemblance to little white bells.  These flowers are everywhere, and on May 1st the streets are covered with professionals and particulars selling the little white flowers.

Originally they were a symbol of Spring in the Paris area, as it is one of the first flowers to appear after winter.  Now it is a symbol of Labor Day.  It is traditional to give a little bouquet to friends and to those you love to bring them good luck.

Passing into May – passer le mai

Mention May 1st in France and people will automatically think of two things: (1) Great, no work today! and (2) Let’s go buy some muguet! Muguet is the French word for lily of the valley, a white flower that is closely associated to the French Labor Day holiday or Fête du Travail.  Growing up in Renaison, a small village in the Roannais (an agricultural region about two hours from Lyon), my father would return from his morning errands on May 1 with un brin de muguet (a small bunch of lily of the valley) tied with a ribbon for my mother, brother, grandmother, and me.  Muguet is found everywhere that day as vendors set up shop on street corners throughout France.

On the night of April 30th to May 1st, there is a local custom called passer le mai (passing into May).  Late into the night, young people go from house to house singing joyful songs about the renewal of spring, similar to how some Americans sing carols at Christmas.  People used to invite the carolers into their homes and offer them eggs and coins, but nowadays this custom is less prevalent.

Oddly enough, the May 1st holiday originated in the United States when large groups of workers protested in 1886 to shorten the work day to eight hours.  French unions followed suit, and May 1st became a day for workers to schedule protests in favor of a shorter work day.  Workers would wear a red triangle to symbolize the division of the day into work, sleep and leisure.  May 1st officially became a paid bank holiday in France in the 1940s.  Although the holiday was once celebrated with a red flower, a color associated with France’s Socialist Party, the more neutral muguet eventually took its place. The muguet is a symbol of happiness and joy, so don’t forget to buy one if you happen to be in France that day!

Guest Post: Learning French

I am very excited to have Tanya Brothen providing Mango a Guest Blog Post.  She has spent the last 14 years learning how to correctly pronounce French words.  While living in Paris in 2008 she started Parisian Spring, a blog about the life and interests of a Francophile traveler.  Tanya currently spends her days working in Washington, D.C., and her nights wishing she owned a home in Provence.

Question: What do the words “accident,” “fruit,” and “table,” have in common?
Answer: All three are regularly used in conversation by English and French speakers alike.

Thanks to the Normans who conquered England in 1066, roughly one third of all English words are of French origin (some by way of Latin), with many of those words spelled exactly the same in both languages.   Think of “courage,” “original,” and “million.”  On any given day, Anglophones are regularly using French words without even thinking about it.

Question: Does this similarity of vocabulary translate into ease in learning the language?
Answer: Don’t bet on it.

See, while the words look the same, their pronunciations are often completely different.  When pronounced in French, the word “fruit” sounds more like “fwee” rather than its English cousin, “froot.”  Francophones wouldn’t dream of pronouncing the “t” in “accident,” and you’re going to need to perfect your from-the-throat hacking sounds to correctly say “original” in front of a Parisian.  You could argue that the similar-look/different-pronunciation conundrum is actually a hindrance to Anglophone learners of French, tricking them into consistently mispronouncing the words that look familiar.

Adding to the confusion are the famous “faux amis,” or false friends.  These are words that, while spelled the same in both French and English, not only have different pronunciations, but also completely different meanings.  Take the word “sensible,” for example.   To the English speaker, it means having or showing good judgment, but the French speaker uses “sensible” to describe a sensitive person or thing.

Question: So what’s an Anglophone learner of French to do?
Answer: It might sound daunting, but straight-up memorization is what helped me.  Flash cards are another good option; simply write the word on one side of a card and the meaning in both French and English on the other side.  For help with pronunciation, try watching a French movie with English subtitles, which allows you to see a word like “original” written in English but pronounced in French.

You’ll know your French skills have truly arrived when you start searching for the meaning or pronunciation of a faux ami in English rather than en Français.  By this point, the previously foreign language will probably start coming to you naturally.  And if it doesn’t, you can always blame the Normans.