I am spending a week in Martinique at France Langue Martinique school to improve my French. I will be in a homestay. Does anyone have any advice on how to prepare for my trip or what to do?
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I donāt think there is some specific advice on the matter. What Iād say is just read and listen a lot.
I am reading up online about Martinique and have a tourist publication.
Sounds like a cool trip.
My only contribution is my French teacher is middle school saying not to go to Martinique because they speak a different (substandard) French there. lol
I am sure I will come back with a creole accent, but I am also looking for the sun.
i was just there two weeks ago iām sure your french will improve the people are very friendly and the atmosphere is very relaxed generally and you certainly going to get sun itās hot lol
How silly of him. Iāve met a few people from there and they speak perfect French. Of course, they also sometimes speak creole but thatās a different language. Anyway, a different accent wouldnāt be āsubstandardā
Good to know. I wasnāt big fan of that lady and I eventually switched to Spanish because of it.
Ironically, in the one Spanish course I took at college (6 years later), I remember the (Peruvian) instructor pointing out that something I said was how they say it in Spain. She was a little snippy too, which I didnāt care for, so I countered by saying that my way, because it was the Castillian way, was the āreal wayā to say it. Then she said that was racistā¦and hated me ever since.
Hi. People there speak standard French but with a specific ācrĆ©oleā accent. They also speak the ācrĆ©ole martiniquaisā which is a nice sounding pidgin, but never with tourists. My advice would be : donāt try to imitate the ācrĆ©oleā accent. White people using this accent are usually ābekĆ©sā (descendants of early European settlers). Maybe you want to have a look at Wikipedia to learn about the turbulent history of that area and the problems they are currently facing ; not everyone is friendly btw. Iāve been there only once and Iām not a specialist of the West Indies, so take what I wrote cum grano salis. However, I can guarantee you that the food is excellent - as long as you like red pepper!
martinique is one of the safest countries to visit hundreds of tourists go they every year with no problems les bekes is a political and historical issue that has been allowed to continue by france but rarely ever effects tourists
La veĢriteĢ sur les beĢkeĢs - YouTube this link might explain it better but itās in french and also only has french subtitles no english captions
Thanks for the advice on the accent. As I am still learning, I usually try to imitate accents. I am not likely to be mistaken for local. And I do love spicy foods
Wow, that video was quite enlightening, thanks for sharing. I now know to watch what I say.
Thanks for the advice about bekes. I noticed the difference when I did not look like a tourist, but I never felt in danger.
Thanks for the advice about bekes. I noticed the difference when I did not look like a tourist, but I never felt in danger.