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 FSI Language Courses Forum : Learning Languages : French
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UkieNewbie
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Quote UkieNewbie Replybullet Topic: Question
    Posted: 06 April 2007 at 11:18am
Hello!

I recently stumbled across the FSI languages site and think it is a godsend, given that I am trying to learn French on a shoestring budget.  I have studied French for reading only (have a pretty good level at it, considering I have had to read French philosophical/theological journals in my studies as well as reading Voltaire and Pascal) and am trying to break into spoken French to get a good level of spoken and written fluency.

One thing I have noticed - I skimmed through the student manual .pdf's and saw that they do not cover useage of the informal pronoun "tu".  Could it be that I am missing something here?

Fortunately, I have a close friend who is from France who is trying to help me out with spoken French and she, as well as other French speaking people that I know, usually insist on using "tu" in daily speech.  I think I have a pretty good grasp on when and how to use "tu" versus "vous", but I think that this is something that the FSI course should cover (I have the Michel Thomas basic CD's and he does not cover the "tu" form either.)

Any thoughts?  Again, thank God I have acquaintances who can help me out speaking on a regular basis!

Peace and blessings to you!
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Brian
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Quote Brian Replybullet Posted: 06 April 2007 at 12:48pm
When this course was created, the "tu" form was used much less.
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daristani
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Quote daristani Replybullet Posted: 06 April 2007 at 1:18pm
Further to Brian's note, I think you also have to keep in mind that the FSI courses were produced for diplomats and other officials, so that they could speak French in official business, where greater formality is normally the rule.  French citizens applying for visas, or French journalists interviewing diplomats, or French officials negotiating with their US counterparts, would probably not react positively to being addressed with "tu".  So the stress on "vous" strikes me as perfectly understandable in this context.  Also, recall that the FSI courses were never intended to be fully "stand-alone" materials; the books and tapes were produced so that the students could drill to their hearts' content, but were always expected to be supplemented by hours of classroom instruction by native speakers, as well as other written materials.

Accordingly, I think your dealings with French friends, as well as using other materials, comes closer to the original FSI approach than relying solely on the FSI course materials themselves.
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mouse
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Quote mouse Replybullet Posted: 06 April 2007 at 1:27pm

Later on in the course (volume 2), the "tu" form appears without warning in drills, although "vous" is still dominant.

As someone mentioned, other sources will be necessary for mastery of the tu form.
 
(Luckily, conjugation for the tu form in verbs is not that hard; they are nearly always pronounced the same way as the "il" form. )
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UkieNewbie
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Quote UkieNewbie Replybullet Posted: 06 April 2007 at 1:54pm
Thanks everyone for the help!

Yes Mouse, my French friends do tell me that the tu form is not much different in pronunciation than the il/elle/on form - the main difference is in spelling.  I also am lucky to have been given a copy of "The Ultimate French Review and Practise" as a gift, which I intend to use intensively when I finish up with the FSI French courses.

I understand that in diplomatic situations, vous would be the proper pronoun to use, especially when dealing with people you don't know.  It just happens that I am fortunate to have a good range of people to practise with (two are seminarians from Lebanon, two are priests from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cote d'Ivoire respectively, and a real close friend with whom I speak with regularly is from Northern France - she did warn me about picking up a Belgian accent by speaking with her and that this would show up and be pointed out should I ever visit France.)

One other thing - does anyone know how to introduce French accents into word processors, e-mail and other stuff on a Mac iBook?  I am practising my writing skills at the same time with my French buddy and it is quite maddening to not be able to write emails and stuff in French without having the accents in the proper places.
Peace and blessings to you!
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blade80
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Quote blade80 Replybullet Posted: 21 May 2007 at 1:22pm
tu is close to il/elle in many instances verbally

Edited by blade80 - 21 May 2007 at 1:23pm
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