foreign language class: note-taking

[timepiececlock]

Note-taking in my French 2 class is a funny process. My notes are a jumble of English and French mixed irregularly and messily together. There is the natural tendency to take notes in French because it's easier, balanced with the necessity of taking some notes in English so that later when you look back at the notes you'll at least have some idea of what the fuck you wrote down in the first place.

However, the big inconsistency in my notes is in writing words in both languages. Most people probably had never thought about it, but modern English is 30.9 % borrowed French. According to my Linguistics textbook, anyway. One can thank William the Conquerer for that, I suppose. While this fact makes learning French vocabulary easier in some ways... it also makes me very sloppy with my spelling.

For example, when talking about direct objects in a sentence, I could write " the direct object " in English... or I could write " le objet diret " in French. I woudn't have to worry about translating it later because the meaning is pretty clear. However, when I take notes it usually comes out something like " le objet direct " instead.

It's like, some part of my note-taking subconscious is fine with dropping the c in object but doesn't like the way diret looks at all and refuses to drop it if I don't have to.

My French notes must look like some crazy pidgin language to the outside observer. And what's worse is that now I've accidentally caught myself spelling words in other classes with the French spelling too. Verbe instead of verb. Continuez instead of continue. Danse instead of dance.

Foreign language study makes you crazy.

In addition to all of this, I've been watching god knows how much subtitled anime in the last 3 or 4 months, so my ears have been constantly inundated with Japanese too!

I find myself wanting to say things and instead of English I end up saying very mangled French or trying vainly to use Japanese words that I don't actually know, but are buried somewhere in my ears. It's incredibly frustrating.

Comments

[kimera.livejournal.com]

One can thank William the Conquerer for that, I suppose.

And Chaucer. 50% of our French-derived vocabulary that made it's way in to the English language before 1900 was adopted during his time.

Forgive me, I just spent weeks researching this for my Growth of Modern English paper. ;)

According to some people, I slip in to a French accent when I get hyper. Which is strange, because while my dad *is* a Francophone, I was raised completely Anglo.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Also, thousands of French and Latin words were brought in during Queen Elizabeth's reign.

According to some people, I slip in to a French accent when I get hyper. Which is strange, because while my dad *is* a Francophone, I was raised completely Anglo.

Odd, but I bet it's cute in person. :)