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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 4:29 am Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
| I"m fluent in both languages having grown up in Timiscaming - a bilingual part of Ontario. I'm also a language teacher and thus qualified to make the comparison and evaluation. |
Dude, you're from T'mang? (I always thought it was in Quebec, but maybe you're from the other side of the river?) We're practically neighbours. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:18 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
ddeubel wrote:
I"m fluent in both languages having grown up in Timiscaming - a bilingual part of Ontario. I'm also a language teacher and thus qualified to make the comparison and evaluation.
Dude, you're from T'mang? (I always thought it was in Quebec, but maybe you're from the other side of the river?) We're practically neighbours. |
Ben qui. Je viens d'Earlton. Plein des vedettes du hockey, c'est toute!
It is a little farming town. Just one laundromat, an LCBO and a laudromat. But lots of catholic girls.... - we have a farm there. Lots of hunting and fishing and no nonsense politiking.
Where you from? I'd guess probably from more north ... Iroquois Falls / Timmins?
I'll be returning to continue my running/training and work on my house and maybe start an ostrich farm. Ain't life fun 
DD |
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enns
Joined: 02 May 2006
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:59 am Post subject: |
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Journalists and pundits seem to rate Harper's French better than Dion's English. But I'm not sure that there's been a comprehensive study by speech experts. I think a Toronto Star poll of Quebecers is about as close as we'll get:
Dion's English vs. Harper's French
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Prime Minister Stephen Harper is better understood in his second language than Liberal Leader St�phane Dion is in his, according to a new poll that put the politicians' skills to the test with voters in French and English.
Angus Reid Strategies set out to see how Harper's French was received by francophones and how Dion's English was going over with anglophones. The polling firm showed clips of the two leaders speaking their second languages to random groups of voters from each linguistic group earlier this week and Harper scored much higher than Dion in facility with his non-mother tongue.
About 81 per cent of the francophones who watched a clip of Harper giving a speech in French rated him "good" or "very good" at the language. By contrast, among the anglophones who watched the clip of Dion explaining policy in English, just 56 per cent gave him a passing grade.
For Dion, this is just more incentive to keep at his intense studies of English. |
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/192619 |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
| Where you from? I'd guess probably from more north ... Iroquois Falls / Timmins? |
North figures into it, but in the name, not the direction. |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| About 81 per cent of the francophones who watched a clip of Harper giving a speech in French rated him "good" or "very good" at the language. By contrast, among the anglophones who watched the clip of Dion explaining policy in English, just 56 per cent gave him a passing grade. |
That's what mithradates posted in French earlier.....
My problem stems not just that these are not qualified experts. It is also from the fact that ONE clip was shown. Harper appears to speak well enough in French when giving a speech and it is what he is prepared for. Speaking and expressing himself in French while "on his feet" and what is generally considered language competency - he isn't near so comfortable. These two video clips were VERY misleading and thus the skewed results.
I just googled the net and came up with dozens of opinions of people who have actually listened to both - all confirming without a doubt that Dion's English rules Harper's French.
There was also THIS little revelation by Dion. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to reveal or talk about.
This is what his language pathologist believes.
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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ddeubel
Joined: 20 Jul 2005
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
ddeubel wrote:
Where you from? I'd guess probably from more north ... Iroquois Falls / Timmins?
North figures into it, but in the name, not the direction. |
Got you!
My sis teaches and lives there and I lived there for a number of years, on the lake. Miss the sound of the waves..... My preteaching days - worked on a French steel working crew based there. (but also did teacher's college there).
Cheers,
DD
http://eflclassroom.ning.com |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject: |
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| ddeubel wrote: |
| I just googled the net and came up with dozens of opinions of people who have actually listened to both - all confirming without a doubt that Dion's English rules Harper's French. |
And I found a ton of opinions in French saying otherwise. The verdict? Neither of the two really rule over the other. You and I are just two more added to the mix.
And yes, there's a difference between speaking correctly and speaking jarringly. Ban Ki-moon is an example of a person that speaks very correct, but somewhat jarring English. Canadian anglophones would probably hate to hear his speeches too. I would submit that speaking non-jarringly is more important for a politician. |
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fiveeagles
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Vancouver
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 3:51 am Post subject: |
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| mithridates wrote: |
| fiveeagles wrote: |
| Sorry to say, but french really isn't that important. Other than going to Montreal to enjoy some shopping once in awhile, there really isn't much significance to it. |
Nah. The French-speaking population is going to double to about 750 million by 2050. It's especially important for English speakers because it's both one of the easiest languages to learn (compared to other languages of course, not saying that learning a language is easy) but it also has a long shared history with English that makes a knowledge of it necessary to understand how English works. French isn't going anywhere. All Canadians should want to know it. |
Well, looks like you are right. The roadmap to a conservative majority will need to go through Frenchland. I guess it's time to polish up on la french. |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2008 8:12 am Post subject: Re: Stephane Dion needs an ESL lesson |
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| seoulteacher wrote: |
You`re right 5eagles, he needs to be able to communicate in English (as non-Francophones need to in French).
I guess it was simply that I was uncomfortable with making fun of him. |
Canada is officially a bi-lingual country, and Stephen Harper cannot speak French as well as Dionne can speak English. |
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