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How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

nytimes.com

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Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#111

Post by agubelu »

jimmaswell wrote: post #92
Swizec wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had extraordinary luck with broken French in France. If you start in French and do your best, a lot of people suddenly speak fluent English. Especially in metro areas. But the experience does not compare to traveling with my partner who speaks fluent zero-accent French. Paris turns into a different much nicer city when you pair with a native speaker. That said, you’ll never get the level of service you see in US…

Europe as a whole has always come off as unpleasant to visit as an American, from what I've read online such as this thread. In no American city I've been to do you have to be so vigilant for pickpockets as you apparently do in European cities, and virtually no one in America will complain about your accent or grammar. We have free water at restaurants, and the staff won't treat you like a mooch for asking about it;…

It's a matter of cultural differences and expectations. Only American cities are like American cities. If you travel anywhere else expecting everything to be just like America you'll be hugely dissapointed.

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#112

Post by thefounder »

prospector1065 wrote: post #87
franz68 wrote: post #65

[flagged]

Do you have something else you want to say? Because it sounds like you're just trying to allude to racism

Just been in France recently. The radio really plays only French-African music. At least 90% of the time. I don't think it's anything racist about that. It just that France changed and I think most of Europe will change as well due immigration. We will see more African, Asian and maybe middle-eastern culture.

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#114

Post by severine »

csdvrx wrote: post #14
taimurkazmi wrote: post #5

You're find this out now? After four centuries of Spanish in the Americas, Spanish speakers there have developed an enormous culture and diversity and innovation in the language. I remind my Spanish friends that there are three times the number of Spanish speakers in Mexico than in Spain. In fact, there are more Spanish speakers in the United States there are more Spanish speakers than in Spain. Ditto for Portuguese,…

I love rap, and I've found many gems in Russian and French rap. These 2 scenes are extremely innovative! > I especially love the music coming out of Mali, Senegal and Algeria (Rai, anyone?). Yes please! Can I ask you for more suggestions, even besides Rai? In the old school, I love Magic System (Gaou), and for current hits, Aye Nakamura EDIT: I can't understand why this comment is downvoted, except maybe for politica…

You're gonna love La Cliqua! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Cliqua

Check the 1999 eponymous album, full of bangers.

edit, just in case: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mmKENGKgnhXwE7...

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#115

Post by qwytw »

cassepipe wrote: post #80
lm28469 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do realize that "franca" here has nothing to do with French or France ? Neither today nor originally

Well, Lingua Franca == Frankish language and since France got its name from the Franks I wouldn't say it's got nothing to do

> Well, Lingua Franca == Frankish

Technically no. Especially not the northern dialects which modern French is based on. Arabs/North Africans/etc. just called all Western European Franks. The actual dialect/pigeon language used in the Mediterranean and called "Lingua Franca" was mainly based on Northern Italian, Occitan and Catalan (so barely related to modern French).

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#117

Post by Daishiman »

jimmaswell wrote: post #92
Swizec wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve had extraordinary luck with broken French in France. If you start in French and do your best, a lot of people suddenly speak fluent English. Especially in metro areas. But the experience does not compare to traveling with my partner who speaks fluent zero-accent French. Paris turns into a different much nicer city when you pair with a native speaker. That said, you’ll never get the level of service you see in US…

Europe as a whole has always come off as unpleasant to visit as an American, from what I've read online such as this thread. In no American city I've been to do you have to be so vigilant for pickpockets as you apparently do in European cities, and virtually no one in America will complain about your accent or grammar. We have free water at restaurants, and the staff won't treat you like a mooch for asking about it;…

I'm sorry but the staff at American restaurants is extremely overbearing and come across as endlessly annoying. I can ask for water or extra dishes if I need them.

The necessity for tips is visible from a mile away.

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#118

Post by arcticbull »

Daishiman wrote: post #116
greatgib wrote: post #103

[flagged]

I mean the Russians trying to exert soft power of Europe is a thing, but over a century if French colonialism _really_ doesn't help your argument one bit.

French colonialism ended a long time ago, like in the 60s. It’s been over 60 years.

[edit] The French even regularly hold referendums in COMs like New Caledonia offering to cut them loose. But the last one they had 97% voted to remain part of France. Sometimes it’s good to be a dependency of a world power.

I should correct myself, New Caledonia isn’t a COM (collectivité d'outre-mer) anymore but a sui generis collectivity. But I digress.

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#119

Post by hardlianotion »

Koshkin wrote: post #72
lm28469 wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You do realize that "franca" here has nothing to do with French or France ? Neither today nor originally

That's not exactly true. To quote Wikipedia, Lingua franca meant literally "Frankish language" in Late Latin, and it originally referred specifically to the language that was used around the Eastern Mediterranean Sea as the main language of commerce.

To be fair to parent, France is on the western side of the Mediterranean sea.

Re: How Africans are changing French, one joke, rap and book at a time

#120

Post by sergiotapia »

thefounder wrote: post #112
prospector1065 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have something else you want to say? Because it sounds like you're just trying to allude to racism

Just been in France recently. The radio really plays only French-African music. At least 90% of the time. I don't think it's anything racist about that. It just that France changed and I think most of Europe will change as well due immigration. We will see more African, Asian and maybe middle-eastern culture.

[flagged]
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