3 hours ago, Gene Howe said:

Le français est-il votre langue maternelle?

What did you ask?

9 hours ago, It Was Al B said:

What did you ask?

I asked John if French was his native tongue.  At least, that's what I think I asked. 

29 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

I asked John if French was his native tongue.  At least, that's what I think I asked. 

Yep, math is becoming more and more appealing...

1 hour ago, Gene Howe said:

I asked John if French was his native tongue.  At least, that's what I think I asked. 

Close enough, Gene. Non, mon ami, Ich spreche Deutch. But not too well! The first 7 1/2 years of my life was spent in Germany, in the Palatinate (Pfaltz), under French occupation. The region has many dialects, and even neighbouring communities have variations. Top that off with a liberal sprinkling of French, and you have a truly unique language. On my only visit back to the old country, I was told that I still sound like local, and an elderly lady in a village about eight miles away identified the place where I was born FROM THE WAY I SPOKE!

John

Edited August 30, 20178 yr by HARO50

19 minutes ago, HARO50 said:

an elderly lady in a village about eight miles away identified the place where I was born FROM THE WAY I SPOKE!

So that must be universal! I saw this sometime back, it seems pretty accurate for the US of A-

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

Wow. A blend of Dutch, French and German languages. Add regional dialects and, Google Translate is not sufficient. Your linguistic experiences are enviable in their richness. 

 

2 minutes ago, lew said:

So that must be universal! I saw this sometime back, it seems pretty accurate for the US of A-

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html

It,s far more pronounced in Europe, Lew. Under the old Feudal system, almost every village was under the rule of a different "Lord", so interactions between communities were rare. America was a "melting pot" of so many cultures that it produced its own dialects, but for the most part, you have to travel some ways to hear a difference. In a restaurant in Georgia, I commented to my friend that our waiter didn't have the same "twang" to his speech that most of the natives had, but sounded more like a Canadian. She asked the waiter where he was from; turned out he was a student, and came from a suburb of Toronto!

John

10 minutes ago, Gene Howe said:

Wow. A blend of Dutch, French and German languages. Add regional dialects and, Google Translate is not sufficient. Your linguistic experiences are enviable in their richness. 

 

Deutch, Gene, not Nederlands. Although the Dutch language is similar to my native "Pfaelzer", and I can follow a conversation in Dutch, I don't speak the language.

John

Aw, come on, youse guys, y'inz, y'all, all y'all, you-uns, we got dialects here.

 

1 hour ago, HARO50 said:

Close enough, Gene. Non, mon ami, Ich spreche Deutch. But not too well! The first 7 1/2 years of my life was spent in Germany, in the Palatinate (Pfaltz), under French occupation. The region has many dialects, and even neighbouring communities have variations. Top that off with a liberal sprinkling of French, and you have a truly unique language. On my only visit back to the old country, I was told that I still sound like local, and an elderly lady in a village about eight miles away identified the place where I was born FROM THE WAY I SPOKE!

John

My Great grandfather was from the same region. He listed his birthplace as Alsace. He was born in France and listed his nationality as German. He emigrated around the 1870's, probably to avoid conscription into Bismark's army. The history of Alsace-Lorraine and the Palatines is foreign to most people. Even some Germans have no idea where the area is on the map.

 

 

3 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Aw, come on, youse guys, y'inz, y'all, all y'all, you-uns, we got dialects here.

 

Some of us are mutts, though. Down South, they tell me I sound like a darn Yankee, and up North they say I have a slight Southern accent.

 

I'm just sooooo, confused! 

Talk about getting off topic!

All together,then:    One, two, three, four

                                  Who are we for..........

John

1 minute ago, HARO50 said:

Talk about getting off topic!

All together,then:    One, two, three, four

                                  Who are we for..........

John

Aw, come on, john, we answered the question...it was time to hijack the thread...

Well, in THAT case.... we visited Alsace 25 years ago. The area has been bounced back and forth between the French and the Germans for centuries. (It's only a matter of time before MY people take it back! ) Today you can speak either language, and be understood. Use the Franc or the D-mark, no problem! (Although I suppose the Euro put an end to THAT!) And the pastries (eclairs or stollen, take your pick) are second to none! A truly bilingual area.

John

37 minutes ago, HARO50 said:

And the pastries (eclairs or stollen, take your pick) are second to none! A truly bilingual area.

OK enough already about the languages...what about these pastries?...let's hear more about them...BTW...I'll have one of each

You can have all of the eclairs you want...but you have to wait until Christmas time for the Stollen.

1 hour ago, Grandpadave52 said:

what about these pastries?...let's hear more about them

 

der strudel von dort ist in einer welt alle ihre ...

der gestohlene ist sehr süchtig ...

4 minutes ago, Stick486 said:

 

der strudel von dort ist in einer welt alle ihre ...

der gestohlene ist sehr süchtig ...

So, what got your attention, the hijack or the mention of pastry

1 minute ago, schnewj said:

So, what got your attention, the hijack or the mention of pastry

 

hijacking the pastries...

Edited August 30, 20178 yr by Stick486

Maybe a big pot of steaming Pho?