Can`t believe how bad some of the main characters' French pronunciation was!
The way they say "boeuf", as in Boeuf Bourguignon. Like - "bouffe" -SO WRONG!
Made my ears hurt! There is no way anyone would live in France for so long and still say it like that. Frenchies would have been correcting her all over the place!
People, don't repeat this mistake! It is horrible sounding!
Hmmm....I can't rememer Julia saying Bouef - I only remember Julie saying it and she was never in France. Course it's entirely possible I missed it. I had no idea how to pronounce it - can you tell me phonetically? I'm saving to get an adequate dutch oven so I can make that recipe and don't want to sound like an idiot!
shareIt sounds closer to "buff" as in "that dude is so buff" than that "boof" nonsense they spouted in the film...
shareI was raised in Quebec by an English-Canadian mom and a Québécois dad. Though they're divorced, she now counts 44 living in Québec, and she still cannot pronounce "boeuf" or "beurre". After having taught French in various circumstances to anglos and Spanish speakers, I have observed that the "eu" sound of the French language is one of the most difficult sounds to make of any human language sound.
So... though I also find the sound annoying, I forgive them.
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
[deleted]
Bird is indeed the sound my mother uses for beurre, but it's still very annoying!!! :)
But bird for boeuf would not be much of an improvement, I'm sounding that out in my mouth right now and think I would be just as annoyed!!! LOL
Part of the phonetics problem is not only the sound proper but the length/speed of the sound. Bird is a longish sound, boeuf is pronounced very quickly/choppy with an open mouth, though the bird sound may be closer in nature, the boof sound was closer in length/speed. Think of the ship/sheep pair in English, which is extremely difficult for foreign speakers to distinctly pronounce, they usually get the right tongue position, but miss the choppiness/quickness of ship over sheep.
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
@tallard ---
"I have observed that the "eu" sound of the French language is one of the most difficult sounds to make of any human language sound."
--- You can't be serious???
OK, for Germans like myself and most other Europeans that particular sound presents no difficulty whatsoever compared to, say, French nasals.
Even so, a bit of a musical ear and practice will do the trick. Let me assure you that there are innumerable sounds in this world's many languages that are a lot harder to comprehend and emulate.
What causes you to get aggressive over this, we WERE having a nice conversation. I did not say THE most difficult, just one of the most. The click sound in Xhosa is also very difficult, so when I say one of the most difficult sounds, it could be of the top 5 or top 10 most difficult sounds.
I have yet to hear any foreign speaker do well with the with "beurre"
Some languages have many difficult sounds, others have none.
It's simply what is interesting about languages...
I do hope you enjoy your day.
***So I've seen 4 movies/wk in theatre for a 1/4 century, call me crazy?**
So sorry, did I sound aggressive? I didn't mean to and I don't quite see where, but I apologise, I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I was just a little stunned.
As far as the Anglophones of this world are concerned, your statement is probably correct.
In German, Swedish, Hungarian ... we have a very similar vowel sound (oe) to begin with, which makes it much easier.
And I repeat, not wanting to sound patronising, but a bit of a musical ear and lots of practice are of great help, also a passion for the country or the people whose language one is learning.
A nice day to you, too!
[deleted]
Try learning Ithkuil, with 65 different consonants and 17 vowels, or any North American Native language, or Welsh, or Irish...
"eu" is peanuts. Languages that use the same sound regularly include Dutch, Afrikaans, German, some English dialects, Armenian, Norwegian, Icelandic, Mongolian, Chinese, etc etc
Better know what you are talking about.
--
No, Schmuck! You are only entitled to your INFORMED opinion!!
-- Harlan Ellison
So judgmental! I have always had a good ear and an ease for languages but I understand that not everyone is the same. Some Americans can't ever pronounce Rs because they can't wrap their mouth around the concept of an R. Some French people just have never been able and will never be able to say "th" even though it sounds ridiculously easy, because it's not something they are trained to do when they're young enough to get the physical reflex.
Anyone willing to take on a foreign language, especially at a later stage of their lives, should be commended. Pronunciation is the hard part but it's also not the essential part. Communication is what matters. If you're able to talk to someone, who cares how perfectly you pronounce words? all that matters is that you make yourself understood. Don't be such a snob.
For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco
Agree with everything you said!
shareI agree with everyone that Julia never said the word in the film. Plus if she had, she was American and not French. She just had an odd sounding voice/ accent. We Americans have various dialects and what not. I'm sure the same could be said about any other world citizen. Which leads me to the French actors supposedly botching the word. I don't remember any of them saying it either, but it's possible that just because they are French doesn't mean they all pronounce French words the same way. Julie was the only one that botched the word. And I think that was because A) She couldn't do the correct pronunciation. B) She was over exaggerating the word on purpose as a joke.
shareI agree. Plus, the real Julia sounded weird when she spoke English.
sharePlus, the real Julia sounded weird when she spoke English.
You do realize that neither Julia or Julie were native French speakers right? Therefore why should you expect them to pronounce things perfectly in the movie.
shareI'm not sure if Julia ever said it in the movie but if she did pronounce it wrong then keep in mind that she was trying to learn. There are a few scenes in the movie showing her taking a class and struggling with it.
share