Would it be stupid of me to ask why top models were asked to pronounce phrases in French?
Americans with French
Every week the judges give them a challenge before reviewing each one and sending one of them home. That time round they were asked to announce the following passage as a (catwalk) fashion designer from Paris. They all failed and the judges were disapointted.
It's not a stupid question !
OK you learn language. Only one and it's is not obligatory. French students have to learn TWO languages :
First language : English or German
Second language : German, English ( it depends of what is your first language ), Italian, Spanish.
And it's not a question of school, i went to USA and no one was able to say to me " Bonjour" or anything. It's cultural i don't know.
I'm learning English, Spanish, Italian, but i know few words of German, Japanese, Arabic ...
I think that American don't even take the time to watch over their borders, It's too bad. I love USA, and American are really nice but they don't know anything about the world. They don't have much culture ...
OK you learn language. Only one and it's is not obligatory. French students have to learn TWO languages :
First language : English or German
Second language : German, English ( it depends of what is your first language ), Italian, Spanish.
And it's not a question of school, i went to USA and no one was able to say to me " Bonjour" or anything. It's cultural i don't know.
I'm learning English, Spanish, Italian, but i know few words of German, Japanese, Arabic ...
I think that American don't even take the time to watch over their borders, It's too bad. I love USA, and American are really nice but they don't know anything about the world. They don't have much culture ...
Dead horse, Uriel. Some of these guys can shoe-horn an insult to the US into the Hail Mary. They're just....talented, like that. With lots of free time. *rolls eyes*
Those models probably would have had an easier time if the passage was in Spanish, but who wants to watch a reality TV show if the contestants aren't making idiots of themselves?
Those models probably would have had an easier time if the passage was in Spanish, but who wants to watch a reality TV show if the contestants aren't making idiots of themselves?
Traditionally, French and German were the only two modern foreign languages taught in the American high schools and colleges. Spanish began appearing in the 1930's in response to increased trade with the Latin American countries plus President Franklin Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor" policy towards Latin America.
It is interesting how each of these languages appeals to a certain personality type and how you can always recognize in a college the people who majored in French, German or Spanish respectively.
Fluency in French probably varies from school to school in both England and America with private schools doing a better job of teaching it than public schools. Therefore, there are probably more per capita British high school graduates who can speak French well vs American high school graduates who are more likely to come from public schools.
Jacqueline Kennedy was an American who apparently had a pretty good command of the French language and there is a story about how she once told DeGaulle in French , "You know Mr. President, my grandfather was French" to which DeGaule replied "And so was mine."
(Just a side note: French has had much the same status in Britain and America as a language of high culture and education that Greek had in the Roman Empire... and the British and Americans are the modern-day Romans. In a larger sense, French and Spanish together have occupied the same position that Greek had in the Roman, Alexandrian and Parthian Empires of ancient times. History repeats itself )
It is interesting how each of these languages appeals to a certain personality type and how you can always recognize in a college the people who majored in French, German or Spanish respectively.
Fluency in French probably varies from school to school in both England and America with private schools doing a better job of teaching it than public schools. Therefore, there are probably more per capita British high school graduates who can speak French well vs American high school graduates who are more likely to come from public schools.
Jacqueline Kennedy was an American who apparently had a pretty good command of the French language and there is a story about how she once told DeGaulle in French , "You know Mr. President, my grandfather was French" to which DeGaule replied "And so was mine."
(Just a side note: French has had much the same status in Britain and America as a language of high culture and education that Greek had in the Roman Empire... and the British and Americans are the modern-day Romans. In a larger sense, French and Spanish together have occupied the same position that Greek had in the Roman, Alexandrian and Parthian Empires of ancient times. History repeats itself )
<<(Sigh) EVERYBODY has a culture, Bruno. Even us.>>
Yes, I'm always slightly amazed at comments by certain people that other people "have no culture" as if culture were something quantifiable and that some humans have more of it than others. Such comments betray a not-so-subtle belief by those who utter such things that their culture is not only inherently better, but that there's somehow more of it (?!). Such things are often said by people who also go thru life believing they're open and unbiased when it comes to looking at the world... ;)
<<And it's not a question of school, i went to USA and no one was able to say to me " Bonjour" or anything.>>
The majority of Americans would be able to say "hola" to you, however. Just because they haven't studied French doesn't mean they're uncultured or unaware of other languages ;)
<<Dead horse, Uriel. Some of these guys can shoe-horn an insult to the US into the Hail Mary. They're just....talented, like that. With lots of free time. *rolls eyes*
Those models probably would have had an easier time if the passage was in Spanish, but who wants to watch a reality TV show if the contestants aren't making idiots of themselves?>>
Good points ;)
Yes, I'm always slightly amazed at comments by certain people that other people "have no culture" as if culture were something quantifiable and that some humans have more of it than others. Such comments betray a not-so-subtle belief by those who utter such things that their culture is not only inherently better, but that there's somehow more of it (?!). Such things are often said by people who also go thru life believing they're open and unbiased when it comes to looking at the world... ;)
<<And it's not a question of school, i went to USA and no one was able to say to me " Bonjour" or anything.>>
The majority of Americans would be able to say "hola" to you, however. Just because they haven't studied French doesn't mean they're uncultured or unaware of other languages ;)
<<Dead horse, Uriel. Some of these guys can shoe-horn an insult to the US into the Hail Mary. They're just....talented, like that. With lots of free time. *rolls eyes*
Those models probably would have had an easier time if the passage was in Spanish, but who wants to watch a reality TV show if the contestants aren't making idiots of themselves?>>
Good points ;)
" Those models probably would have had an easier time if the passage was in Spanish "
Asking them to speak some french seem very logical. It could be also in italian. If this show is claiming to select girls to become top-models, french and Italian are necessary languages - (like english is a necessary language in business and trade), since Milan and Paris are the most important centers of international fashion. All the famous top-models are able to speak some french or Italian, and most of them spend a lot of time in Paris or Milan with French and Italian designers.
Asking them to speak some french seem very logical. It could be also in italian. If this show is claiming to select girls to become top-models, french and Italian are necessary languages - (like english is a necessary language in business and trade), since Milan and Paris are the most important centers of international fashion. All the famous top-models are able to speak some french or Italian, and most of them spend a lot of time in Paris or Milan with French and Italian designers.
Some supermodels here in the UK dinnae have time to speak at all let alone bother to pronounce anything properly.....they're too busy doing coke...which is why some supermodels are nae supermodels any longer.
<<All the famous top-models are able to speak some french or Italian, and most of them spend a lot of time in Paris or Milan with French and Italian designers.>>
Top-models learn how to speak foreign languages the same way everyone else does: by lots of exposure, and language classes (provided by their modeling agencies). Those chicks on America's Next Top Model aren't top models. They're game-show contestants. But I'm sure when one of them wins the modeling contract at the show's end, she'll be speaking fluent French, Italian, and Japanese within two or three years.
Top-models learn how to speak foreign languages the same way everyone else does: by lots of exposure, and language classes (provided by their modeling agencies). Those chicks on America's Next Top Model aren't top models. They're game-show contestants. But I'm sure when one of them wins the modeling contract at the show's end, she'll be speaking fluent French, Italian, and Japanese within two or three years.
I got 5 foreign in high school.
in (for americans) the 7th grade we had to take english, french and latin.
In 8th and 9th grade we had to do english, french, latin, german and greec.
You could drop greec or latin after 9th grade, and after 10th grade you could drop french and german.
So in the last grade everybody had to do at least 2 foreign languages, and if they wanted, up to 6.
It's a nice system if you like languages... (i don't)
(btw i live in Holland)
in (for americans) the 7th grade we had to take english, french and latin.
In 8th and 9th grade we had to do english, french, latin, german and greec.
You could drop greec or latin after 9th grade, and after 10th grade you could drop french and german.
So in the last grade everybody had to do at least 2 foreign languages, and if they wanted, up to 6.
It's a nice system if you like languages... (i don't)
(btw i live in Holland)