A cheeky little video has been doing the rounds entitled “How to fake French when you don't know how to speak it”. Although meant as a joke, many who have seen it say how true some of the points are.
14.03.2012
(ADW) A cheeky little video has been doing the rounds entitled “How to fake French when you don't know how to speak it”. Although meant as a joke, many who have seen it say how true some of the points are.
We posted the video on the wort.lu/en Facebook page where it proved extremely popular so, we decided to investigate further:
The video claims that to fake French when you can't speak it, you need to follow 5 easy steps:
Step 1 – show an enthusiasm for wine
Step 2 – make sounds with your mouth to show signs of agreement
Step 3 – eat if possible to avoid having to speak
Step 4 – use swear words to emphasise approval
Step 5 – when in doubt just try to blend in
We asked our French colleagues what their opinion of the video was and whether they thought there was any truth in the advice or if it was just stereotypical rubbish to them.
“The video really made me laugh! Even if the scenes are a little caricatured for the gag, I must admit it's pretty close! ... Especially the sounds with the mouth, the wine enthusiasm, and swear words!” replied Christelle Raineri journalist for our French sister website wort.lu/fr.
After the video was posted on Facebook, German singer and guitarist with local band Project 54 Patric Klink wrote: “why did you post this? Now everybody knows how I survive an every-day job with francophone colleagues! Je vous aime tous!”. A comment from another Facebooker simply said “Rather Brilliant!”, a third stated “now to put into practice!”.
What do you think? Is it too stereotypical? Are there extra steps you would suggest and other ways to fake French?
What about other languages? Are there ways to fake German or even Luxembourgish? Let us know below: