A favorite pet of the President of France, "Senator", named after his friend from Massachusetts, USA.
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| Home Front: Politix |
| Kerry speaks French, but does anyone know what he said? |
| 2004-10-19 |
| By Chris Suellentrop, Slate J'ai édité ceci pour le rendre plus court. Let's see: Your opponent is characterizing you as an effete internationalist willing to "turn America's national security decisions over to international bodies or leaders of other countries." In particular, he suggests, in all seriousness, that you want to call up Jacques Chirac for permission before deploying the military. At the Republican National Convention, you were portrayed as a beret-wearing poodle named "Fifi Kerry." How should you defend yourself against these slanders? Ce n'est pas une 'calomnie,' il est une critique. By speaking French on the stump, of course. . . . Well, they don't call him a "haughty, French-looking Massachusetts Democrat" for nothing, I guess! (Translations by "Babel Fish.") |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #12 Kerry may crash and burn in the US election, but I'll bet his numbers are looking pretty strong in Quebec. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-10-19 6:48:24 PM |
| #11 A favorite pet of the President of France, "Senator", named after his friend from Massachusetts, USA. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-10-19 3:11:27 PM |
| #10 The distinction between Creole and French in Haiti depends on your social status: Middle class haitians and upwards can speak Creole, and take great pride in speaking French very well. I am aware of two people who were born and raised in Haiti who postitively astounded even fussy Parisians on how elegantly and well they spoke French. The best french, by the way, is NOT spoken in Paris, but in Touraine: All the best french radio and TV announcers are Tourangeaux, and even the Parisians, in rare fits of honesty, cede that better French was spoken on the docks of the Loire than in Versaille. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2004-10-19 2:10:23 PM |
| #9 Kerry's French is insufficiently deep for him to understand that when he says that French and German military "help is on the way," the French laugh at him. In their eyes, a poseur's even worse than a cowboy. Kerry is another Jimmy Carter, and even if he were elected, would be treated with the same degree of contempt that Schmidt and Giscard had for that other naif. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-10-19 12:58:56 PM |
| #8 I went to the Haiti section of Smithsonian folk life festival, they had signs in English, French,and Haitian Creole. It was fun seeing how much (written) Creole I could understand with my schoolboy French. In some cases it was simply a matter of figuring out the funky spelling. My impression is that most Creole speaking Haitians can understand standard French, at least to some degree. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2004-10-19 12:53:38 PM |
| #7 Angie Schultz Most Haitians speak creole. It is nearly impossible to understand for a French speaker, even for a native one (much harder than understanding Portuguese for a Spaniard). I don't think that someone far less used to hearing French and with a smaller vocabulary, like an American senator, could have any chance to understand creole from his "imported" French. |
| Posted by: JFM 2004-10-19 12:49:10 PM |
| #6 Since Kerry went to a Swiss finsihing school, does that make him one of those "elite knowers of what is"? |
| Posted by: Carlos 2004-10-19 12:24:12 PM |
| #5 If Kerry went to a Swiss school in Zug, he may have learnt Schwyzerdutsch, not French (as in Gruezi! not Bonjour!). And if he learnt French in Zug, well, hmmm... hahaha. |
| Posted by: Kalle (kafir forever) 2004-10-19 12:18:12 PM |
| #4 Ah. That explains everything, lol! He's finished. Good. I was worried he was still rather adolescent with serious Mommy things going on after that third debate. Whew! Close one. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-19 11:57:58 AM |
| #3 He was supposedly talking to a Haitian. Maybe it was Haitian patois. It would be a damn sad thing for a feller to go to a Swiss finishing school and not know how to speak decent French. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-10-19 11:55:22 AM |
| #2 Of course it ain't possible to know what he said. French is a nuanced language, perfect for diplomats and elite knowers of what is. You won't hear him say it, but Kerry'd really like to talk French all the time. |
| Posted by: Hank 2004-10-19 11:37:33 AM |
| #1 My wife speaks French fluently. She says it is pigin French like schoolboys may speak and is too accented. Actually, the best French spoken is very montonal and lacking stress. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2004-10-19 10:28:38 AM |