LANGUAGES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13713, 1 October 1908, Page 3

LANGUAGES.

HOW TO TEACH FRENCH By Barnr Fain.

The serious youDg man who had ben speaking to ms on the subject of Education and Self-Improvement now asked in# what I thought about French. I said that it was a wide taibject. " Yes, and it's so wide that, incut of u* arc afriad to tackle it, or at any rale don't get far into it. O course, I learned French in a way at school. I cau say things like, "Aporty mwar de l'eau c'uaude' and 'Je nong vwaw pas le -iccesftitr.' But that doesn't make me what would be termed a fluent French conversationalist." THE BEGINNING.

I did not wish to be discouraging, nor did J see what he was driving at. So I -aid—J admit that it has been said before —that everything must have a beginning He received this with enthusiasm.

"Quite right. That's where you hit the nail on the head. But what apnoys me is that we've inadc the beginning, and we don't kuuir that we re inado it, and in consequence we are uot pressing it home. Yes, sir, litis rear we've begun to teach every Londoner French free. All it needs is to be carried a little further. I said that I had not observed it. "Xo, sir, most people haven't observed it but it's there all the same: It took its rise in the Anglo-Brit, coming on top of the Entente Cordjawl. That's brought a great number of French over *o this little village, and in order to suit their convenience, and secure their custom. and so on. we've had to put up directions in French. That's what we did it, for. but it had another effect as well. It has begun to teach the Londoner French Take, for instance, the English word, exit. Last year I couldn t have given you the French for tlialT But. tiiankx to the Tubes, I know tliiit it* 'sortv.' Same way I know that lifts i'.re "ascenders." I've seen the whole bill of an entertainment done out l'icnch, and notices in shop windows, and mottoes on triumphal archen. and such like. That'.- tJic way to do it. if you wan* to make it universal. It's good to tell people to mug it up out of book-, because of cm won t mug. \ "it want to bring it into their daily live*, stick it up on the walls so that I hey ran - miys il, rub it into tlicm at every tuin. Carried further, as might very well I*done. Ik; should all become French schol . air. In-fore we knew we were liuit. • ItUItIHXG IT IX."

" But about the ascent. Lots »t Englishmen know French who can t or won't tpeak it. I myaelf " Yes. yea. 1 was coining to that point, but 1 always begin at the stall. It wouldn't be any good to know how to pronounce Flench if you didn t know unv French to prulluuiuc. would it-

Xow while there m> u rally Fienchincu »vvr .here I don't know «liy a bf. of the daily pa|>crr> shouldn't be done in French cveiy day with l lie Kngli>h put alongside. Certainly cveiv notice and advci put up in the vtieU* .should Ik- dupli iMt<d in French. The t'oumy Council might put two uecful Fundi phrases buck of each tram ticket. Theic- aie plenty of way.« of getting the Flench language liibbcd into people. When ; iiat «a> donc then 1 rhould be<jin t« work on tlin pronunciation. Do you pionouiae it. nil right

" Fiom .» iiiLxtiiie o| iuiik and \aiilty I avoitl >p«akiliK it whenever po.-sible." "Well. I've licaid Frenchmen speaking a many time.-." "That - * ju»t it. How cm .m Kng lfdiuiaii hopo to e.. t tli.it

" Hold Dii. if you'll excuse in*-. Hut • wheie you -o wionj;. Jiveivbody s-.eui'< to have got '.hat idea that the I'lcttch speak French well. Mut they don't. Yc». 1 dale >av you're Mirpiised. but it i>~« so. The French altogether overdo it. They exaggerate everything. I hey

put too much 10-.-liriii into it. i hey ii.-jW"- thu blooming language ».iumi at ftctcd. They gabble too quickly* A brothet of mine. uhoV, never had 'lie advantage of abioad. made up liimind I" -peak Flench, and he learned it by talking to a IJ.im.in waiter .i! .m Italian in ctxlord ."tree-. He ••"ill puked it up. and. unlik- youiicll. li«- viijoy.-. i* yu II ii'-cer lie.-i liilil -ay ' • otf. e ' whet'" ' ■ itfv ' would be itndetstood. Well, li"" . 1V" In aid Frenchmen talking Fiemh. ami I vt lic.n-l my iiiiithel alni tha". wait'i talk t. ani I till a"s<ll*' you this It W. ,v "|inte

ibtfc ICII; tiling I had 1.1 admit tha- 'III- ""lli'i plo!>

ITIU.It • • lIAM< »I'H( i.N K> <»! milt— i:'- "• I iieani !" f ; 11 ■ 11111 li talking H t he iTfi! Will 1 Ft .no. • 111 "lit I'm •!« \'

readv to Jearn tomething 1 ; when 1 can. One "of them said to the other. Quel fichu t>av'' 1 take that to mean, 'What docs one pay for—a thing that, women weal? An Englishman would just have said it. but this Frnchnutn exclaimed it. -Ho turned up his eye* till they cracked. You could hear, his eyebrows bump againsi his front liair. Now you 11 never ge i an Englishman to do that kind of thing —vou can't expect it. And. maiK my words, if ® v * r >* ou au l; D S" s l u,lini that speaks French like a 1* tvnclwiaii, don't vou trust him any further than vou can throw him. The difference is as much a matter of ;euii>eniinent a-o it hj, of tongue. All I want to effect la to get every Englishman to talk irencli like an Englishman —that is. to talk it just well enough for an I renclinrau to understand. By not trying to do too much you're the more likely '<> get something done. " And how are you going to get wed thib modified form of French pronunciation laught to the Londoner?" " I'm not- going to get- it myself. I sail for Canada to-morrow. But I'm keen on education, aud I don't mind giving you the tip in one word —gramophones. I d have free, public, County Council gramophones kept going every fine day in tin? parks and the Embankment Garden?, and wherever there was room for them, speaking French and then translating it. " But would you get Londoners Ui lake any notice of them? "Why not? Did you ever know die Loudoner backward at a fiec show? We get an average crowd ct t-htrly-four for Z falleu hoi.*-, more than that for a woman in ti l - and double that for three foreigners ladling out hot tar over wood blocks. It's my belief that every French speaking gramophone would need a >pcial policeman to i-egulate the crowd round it. Oil! here we are —Waterloo at last.'

Wc got out of the train. 1 wished him good afternoon ajid good luck in Canada. "Thanks." he said. "And if you see a way to push on my idea of languages for Londoners I fhftll be glad. Well. Canada's a long way off. and we're no:, likely to meet again. i>o I'll just say 'au levwat.' " In accordance with his wishes 1 liavtf given hU ideas such gencial publicity is within my power.