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Learn to speak a few key French phrases and you'll get by just fine.
Also want to emphasize the previous post about road signs; they can mess you up. Learn the French phrases for each compass direction, and look online for the common road signs. Also, if parking in the city, learn the days of the week so you don't get a ticket. I keep a handy little booklet with me with this info and more.
Learn to speak a few key French phrases and you'll get by just fine.
Also want to emphasize the previous post about road signs; they can mess you up. Learn the French phrases for each compass direction, and look online for the common road signs. Also, if parking in the city, learn the days of the week so you don't get a ticket. I keep a handy little booklet with me with this info and more.
Compass directions are easy. Days of the week aren't too different from Spanish, which I studied in high school. (The Spanish actually helps me to get the gist of a lot of things in print, since a lot of words have the same Latin root, though obviously this is useless for pronunciation.) In general, I try to be a "sponge" when I see signage in a foreign language, and either figure out or look up what it means. I've done that on past trips to Canada, thanks to the bilingual signage, food labeling, etc.
With that said, I have a buddy who teaches French at a college here in L.A., and he noted after a visit to Montreal that he couldn't understand the accent. So I'm not setting the bar too high in terms of understanding people. Hopefully they will realize that I am a dumb tourist and slow down.
I watched the movie Bon Cop, Bad Cop, last night, mostly because the premise amused me, but I was also hoping I might pick up a few stray French vocabulary words. I did - but let's just say they're not words I plan on using.
Once in a while even us Anglo Quebecers get thrown a curve ball..
First time i saw this one it got me wondering what was the risk referring to what the heck is Brouillard? http://www.okiwoki.com/images/produi...d-format_2.jpg
Yeah, that would definitely throw me for a loop. "Risque de Broillard?" Does that mean there's a risk of me being attacked by that octopus-looking thing? Or does that mean the octopus is scantily dressed?
I would assume the sign with the trees just means you're coming up on an area of tall trees, where branches might fall on your car or something. Similar to tell "Falling Rock" sign when you're driving on mountain roads.
Once in a while even us Anglo Quebecers get thrown a curve ball..
First time i saw this one it got me wondering what was the risk referring to what the heck is Brouillard? http://www.okiwoki.com/images/produi...d-format_2.jpg
Found out much later it was referring to fog..
Thanks for the laugh, but that's obviously not the actual sign.. Your link is to a website that sells t-shirts and videogame-based stickers. The actual MTQ "brouillard" sign shows a car going into a cloud and doesn't mention "brouillard" so you can't really ask "what the heck is brouillard"!
With that said, I have a buddy who teaches French at a college here in L.A., and he noted after a visit to Montreal that he couldn't understand the accent. So I'm not setting the bar too high in terms of understanding people. Hopefully they will realize that I am a dumb tourist and slow down.
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I assume that you are talking about conversations he was overhearing, as opposed to direct exchanges he had with people. If he couldn't communicate with waiters, store staff, hotel staff, etc., then he is probably not a very good French teacher.
I assume that you are talking about conversations he was overhearing, as opposed to direct exchanges he had with people. If he couldn't communicate with waiters, store staff, hotel staff, etc., then he is probably not a very good French teacher.
It was probably just the accent, in the same sense that an English speaker might have trouble understanding a Scottish accent. Once it's slowed down enough that you can ascertain individual words, then you're fine.
Thanks for the laugh, but that's obviously not the actual sign.. Your link is to a website that sells t-shirts and videogame-based stickers. The actual MTQ "brouillard" sign shows a car going into a cloud and doesn't mention "brouillard" so you can't really ask "what the heck is brouillard"!
Maybe my link was misleading in its origin but i've seen the sign frequently posted on the Eastern townships autoroute just before the Granby exit about a mile before the old toll booth area.
As yet i havent seen the sign you mention..
Maybe my link was misleading in its origin but i've seen the sign frequently posted on the Eastern townships autoroute just before the Granby exit about a mile before the old toll booth area.
As yet i havent seen the sign you mention..
This is the Quebec fog warning sign in use everywhere in the province:
The other one one you posted has a red border and looks to be from Europe or something. It is not at all consistent with signage standards used in Quebec or in Canada or the U.S. We don't use signs that look like this in Quebec.
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