• Space/Science
  • GeekSpeak
  • Mysteries of
    the Multiverse
  • Science Fiction
  • The Comestible Zone
  • Off-Topic
  • Community
  • Flame
  • CurrentEvents

Recent posts

So, it is official RL June 6, 2025 5:39 pm (Space/Science)

"Remember, what the dormouse said, ER June 5, 2025 4:14 pm (Space/Science)

"Make my day" BuckGalaxy June 5, 2025 1:08 pm (CurrentEvents)

NSIDC Data drop ER June 4, 2025 9:34 pm (Space/Science)

Boulder will be in your news soon. podrock June 1, 2025 3:14 pm (CurrentEvents)

It's over folks RL June 1, 2025 12:38 pm (Space/Science)

Administration solves things the old fashion way BuckGalaxy June 1, 2025 11:01 am (Flame)

Issacman out as NASA Admin BuckGalaxy May 31, 2025 9:40 pm (Space/Science)

Lie, cheat and disable mechanisms... BuckGalaxy May 31, 2025 8:04 pm (Space/Science)

Big beautiful wall RobVG May 31, 2025 11:50 am (Flame)

2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit May 28 and 29 BuckGalaxy May 28, 2025 2:52 pm (Space/Science)

C'mon a little closer gonna do it to you BuckGalaxy May 27, 2025 9:46 pm (Off-Topic)

Home » Off-Topic

Talkin' frog blues August 30, 2018 8:30 pm ER

I’ve decided to brush up on my school French, and I think I may have stumbled onto a relatively painless way to do it. Most movie DVDs have alternate language options, usually Spanish and French (in addition to English), and there is a subtitles option you can select if you’re hard of hearing. Well, I’ve learned the two are keyed together, so you can watch almost any film in an alternate language, while simultaneously reading the subtitles in that language.

I just finished disc one of “The Hobbit”, (An Unexpected Journey) and it worked out really well. I’ve already seen the film several times, so I know the dialog almost by heart, but by both hearing and reading it in French its really imprinting it in my memory. And since I have to really work hard to keep up with both, I don’t find myself bored with the familiar material, so its almost like watching the film for the first time. I’ve always wished I could wipe my memory of the films so I could enjoy them again as if it were my first time.

After the six LOTR films, I will start going through my DVD library and rediscovering all my old favorites while polishing up my French. Most of the newer editions (movies made after the DVD era) have French dubbing or subtitles, and often both, so it will be a good way to recycle a lot of those films again.

In the meantime, I will start working my way through my old French textbook, (It has 52 chapters) so if I can discipline myself to one a week by this time next year I should be back up to speed, at least as far as reading is concerned, speech is something else again.

I did notice something interesting in the film, though. The
subtitles and the dubbing do not always agree–they both translate the English dialog perfectly, but they often do it in very different ways, as if two separate teams were in charge of the translation, and they didn’t consult with each other. I was pleasantly surprised to realize I had kept enough of my school French to be able to pick up on this!

If you’ve been meaning to refresh some of your old language skills, and are looking for a way to squeeze some extra utility out of your old movies, here’s way to do it.
Although my verbal skills were pretty poor, my written French was adequate to translate journal articles with some assistance from my Petite Larousse. If I can find someone to practice with maybe I can get my accent up to speed too. Maybe I can convince Mm. Reclus that we need to hire a young French foreign exchange student as a part-time maid…

  • "El Ministerio del Tiempo" by Robert 2018-08-30 21:04:09
    • The Conquest of Mexico, The Conquest of Peru by ER 2018-08-31 04:49:46
      • After writing the above... by ER 2018-08-31 05:12:52

    Search

    The Control Panel

    • Log in
    • Register