Sometimes, learning a new language can be really boring. Even when it's things that you know that you want to know - and know fluently, without hesitation, my inner voice reminds me -- they can be less than fun.
Take vingt-et-un, for example. It's French for twenty-one, but for me, it's French for perhaps we can just skip this number. I have difficulty with lesser numbers -- even zero, aka zéro, pronounced something like ZAYghrow, can be intimidating -- but if I take it slowly, I can do it. Some words are so close to the Spanish - onze, douze, treize, quatorze and quinze sound a lot like once, doce, trece, catorce,quince - that I can rattle them off. Seize (16) puzzles me, but I can frequently remember it if I think of the Spanish (Diez-y-seis). I slow down for the next few -- let's see -- dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf. And finally Vingt. Mount Twenty, at last!
And then I'm staring at the next little step, and I'm stunned. Vingt-et-un. Veh-E-oon. Or possibly VANteyon. Past that, the ride smooths out -- the 'et' gets dropped, and you're into vingt-un, vingt-douze, vingt-trois. No problem. But 21....
Ah, skip it.
4 comments:
I hated learning to count in french. Just wait until the numbers get bigger and you have to add things.
When I was in high school (and taking french) I would sit up in bed at night and count to 200 (in french) when I couldn't sleep.
I wonder if I could still do it.
Next time your daughter needs some middle of the night walking....
four score and twenty years ago...
Yeah, every language has them. Though I bet, other than that reference, very few people know what a score is, other than for sports or music.
I always stumble on 'stone'. He was 12 stone. Uh, is that a lot?
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