The Evolution of a Conversation

1. The Evolutionof aConversation From “Hello” to “Goodbye” En Français. Mlle. Mortellito – Français 1

2. Saying Hello A question of Manners • In French, conversations can be either formal or informal. • Who must we be formal with? • Our elders • People who hold a position that demands respect • People you are meeting for the first time • Who can we be informal with? • Our peers • Our friends • Anyone who lives under our roof with us

3. Saying Hello • Formal Greeting – Bonjour! • Informal Greeting – Salut! Monsieur (M.)= Mister/Sir Madame(Mme.) = Ma’am/Mrs. Mademoiselle(Mlle.) = Miss

4. Asking how someone is Doing • Formal question: • Comment allez-vous? • Informal Questions: • Comment vas-tu? • Ça va? • Slang question: • Ça roulle?

5. Telling others how you are Feeling • The answer to Çava? is Çava. • Bien (good) Très Bien (very good) • Mal (bad) … How would you say very bad? • Fantastique • Triste • Content(e) – for a woman we add an “e” • Commeci, commeça. • Malade • J’aifaim / J’aisoif • Fatigué (e)

6. Returning the Favor • When someone asks you a question and you want to ask them the same thing without repeating their question you say “And you?” • Saying “And you?” in French. • Formal – Et vous? • Informal – Et toi? • In French the combination of the letters OI together make a “wah” sound. A very common combination. • Pausez! – Ask your partner how they are, and have them return the favor.

7. Always end with “Merci!” This is what the French call “La politesse.” Politeness is an important part of their language culture. • Behave properly with others, being both friendly and honest is important in France as in many countries. But in France, we do not like people who are "hypocrites" (when it hides her true feelings), then we accept more easily when someone is less polished. So we appreciate the "franchise" or honesty. Q: Comment allez-vous? A: Trèsbien, merci.

8. What’s your name? • Formal Question: • Comment vous appelez-vous? • Informal Question: • Comment t’appelles-tu? • Answer: • Je m’appelle ____________.

9. Asking “How do You Spell That?” • Remember your French Alphabet? You’ll need it! • Q: Comment ças’écrit? • A: Ças’écritD-A-V-I-D. Pausez --- Ask your partner their name, and then have them spell it for you!

10. Where are You From? • In French the “H” is silent, it makes no noise, so this will impact the way we ask the question “Where are you from?” • Formal Question:  Où habitez-vous? Pronounced (ooh –ah –bee –tay –voo) • Informal Question:  Où habites-tu? Pronounced (ooh –ah –bee –too) • Answer: J’habite à __NJ______.

11. Saying Goodbye • There are no real formal versus informal ways to say goodbye but judging bye their meaning can you tell which is appropriate and when? • Au revoir - goodbye • À bientôt - see you soon • À toute à l’heure - see you later • À plus – Later! • À demain - see you tomorrow • Bon weekend – Have a good weekend • Ciao – Bye!

12. À Votre tour • Now it’s your turn. • Please choose a partner. • Together you will write out a script for your own dialogue. Please, each of you should write down your own copy of both your lines and your partner’s lines. • Please decide if you want to have a formal or informal conversation, and stick to that theme throughout. • Practice aloud together, be prepared to present in front of class. • Extra credit for those pairs who memorize their script (15 point quiz grade)