Is it Laundry or Lingerie?

Make it stand out

While traveling throughout France on a river cruise this past month, I had a chance to listen to many non-native English speakers and practice my limited French. As this is the core of my work, I was fascinated by the various pronunciations and stress patterns. Sometimes I understood what was said while fellow tourists could not decipher the message. “What is a ‘caraCAYcher?” asked one of my new friends in puzzlement when the guide said “caricature.”  This reminded me how misunderstanding one word can alter the entire narrative or slow down one’s understanding.

In Rouen, we saw the famous Notre Dame Cathedral, the subject of Claude Monet’s twenty-three paintings in various lighting. The French guide explained that the Tourist Information Office behind us was originally the Bureau of Finance and Monet painted from the second-floor window, which I heard was a “laundry shop.” Did they even have laundromats or laundry shops in 1892? She said that Monet had to move to another location down the street because women were changing their clothing there. That made sense to me, but as I retold the story, I was corrected and told he painted in a “lingerie” shop! The guide’s accent altered the stress pattern and led me down a different path.

That same guide showed us where Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) was burned at the stake. One of our friends in the group kept asking who “Jennifer” was. The guide was pronouncing it as “Jenna f$#k”. How embarrassing for her when she realized people were not understanding her and how bold of the tourist to bring it to her attention!

I began collecting words stressed or pronounced differently by various guides over the week. I can’t help but identify these patterns! The syllables in upper case letters are stressed with a higher pitch, a louder voice, and a longer vowel. Here are some examples of what they said:

·         Catastrophe “cataSTROFE”

·         Village “vilLAGE”

·         Image “imAGE”

·         Temperature  “temperAYcher”

·         Properties  “proPERtees”

·         Churches “chur CHEEZ”

·         Ceremony  “serREHmoney”

·         Fortified  “forty-FIED” (sounded like 45)

·         Scaffolding “scafFOLDing”

·         Abbeys “uhBEEZ”

·         Catholicism  “catholiSEEzim”

·         Monasteries “moNASteries”

·         Aristocracy “uhristoKRASy”

On our river cruise, the director gave a tutorial on speaking French. Americans will have similar challenges as we attempt to speak French with the correct intonation. I loved how he suggested that we should “tiptoe” and go on our toes to help us stress the last syllable, which is unnatural for English speakers. Think of raising up on our toes when you say “bonJOUR,” “s’il vous PLAIT,” and “au reVOIR.”

Once we become familiar with other languages' rhythm and pronunciation patterns, it becomes easier to understand each other. Listen within the context and that should help.

Contact me with any questions about how non-native English speakers can communicate with confidence, clarity, and credibility. LKWilner@Successfully-Speaking.com.