Flirting with French by William Alexander

As someone who has tried over the years to learn French, I can certainly empathize with the brain pain and heartbreak of William Alexander in his book Flirting with French. The subtitle says it all: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me & Nearly Broke My Heart.

This is his tale of not only wanting to learn French but really wanting to be French. Before a bike trip through Brittany and Provence with his wife Anne, Mr. Alexander decides to buckle down and learn les mots française. As he is 57 years old, this is not the easiest of tasks and his time spent studying using a Rosetta Stone language course has mixed results. 

Once back to America from his trip, he redoubles his efforts to learn his bonjours et bonsoirs. In addition to laughing at his comic struggles with this self-imposed task, I have been treated to, among other things: a brief history of the Battle of Hastings; the quirky workings of the Académie français, the official authority on the French language; and a chapter on his attempts to make croissants from Julia Child's recipe (they were délicieux).

I took two years of French in high school. I have bought and listened to numerous French language instruction tapes, have at least three French-English dictionaries on my bookshelves plus a variety of How to Learn French textbooks, and have taken adult education classes in the language. 

I have been twice to Paris on my own and was determined to at least speak a little of the native tongue. I think it paid off although my speaking to someone and my understanding of their response were two different things.

Alas. I am in the same boat (le bateau) as Mr. Alexander. The striving to be fluent in this beautiful language has been more of a dream (I wonder what it is like to dream in French?) than a reality. And yet, I persist.

I am reminded that there is no word in French for seventy, eighty, or ninety. No wonder numbers are so difficult. And don't even get me started on the wacky assignment of gender to words. For example, beard is feminine; chicken is masculine. Go figure.

This book is full of fun and fun facts and le français. Even if you don't speak a word of French (although you know you want to), I think you will find this witty book a treat.

Have you had any experience trying to learn a language as an adult? What were the results?

Parlez-vous français?

First French Course
(1886)

I took two years of French in high school and then quickly forgot the headache of deciphering the feminine and masculine nouns, the use of pronouns - je, tu, il, elle, on, and the days of the week - lundi, mardi, mercredi...

However, over the years, I have returned again and again to the language through audio tapes, children's books, vocabulary lists, movies, and les chansons. 

A couple of trips to Paris and France on my own have helped as well.

Anyway, I have a tiny collection of books in French that I have picked up along the way...not in France but in America. Two are French lesson books, one is a French dictionary (containing not a word of English), and another is a beautiful, leather-bound book with marbled end papers: Trois Heures au Musée du Prado (1939).

This lovely book, all in French, offers the reader a tour of the paintings and sculptures in the Spanish art museum located in Madrid. The illustrations are in black and white which don't really do much for the art, but it is a sweet little book nonetheless. My mom found it at a library book sale. There is not a mark in it!

Trois Heures au Musee du Prado
(1939)

Sujet Mystique
Andrea del Sarto (1488-1530)

One of the French lesson books I picked up for a dollar years ago at the famous outdoor bookshop, Bart's Books, in Ojai, California. Titled La Belle France (1916), it is all in French and takes a look at the different regions of the country. It includes maps and photos of landmarks and landscapes. There are a couple of French poems tossed in for the student for good measure.

La Belle France
(1916)

The other lesson book is entitled First French Course (1886) and is pretty standard in its contents - no photos, just lessons on Pronunciation, the Article, the Noun, etc. It has a very comprehensive French-English vocabulary. The basic instructions are in English but then the exercises and extracts are in French. 

The dictionary is a hardcover edition of Nouveau Petit Larousse Dictionnaire Encyclopédique (1948).  It is thick (some 1800 pages), has an orange cover, and is illustrated. I found it for $1.50 at a yard sale. Not just a standard dictionary, it has a section Histoire - Geographie containing entries on famous people and places with photos and maps. Another section has a chronology, maps, and entries on the major players in World War II (La Seconde Guerre Mondiale). It is quite a treasure.

Larousse
(1948)

Entry on Art Grec in Larousse

Eh bien! Don't be fooled into thinking that I sit around reading these books. My grasp of French is still pretty basic. But, one of the reasons I am enjoying reading the M. Hercule Poirot mystery, The Murder on the Links, is that the action takes place in France and all sorts of exclamations and bon mots are in French.  I get a little thrill reading them.

Do you have a secret stash of books in a foreign language?  Are you a life-long student of French, German, or Spanish? How is that working for you?