Microsoft's "dedicated French employees" are computer science majors and engineers, probably recent college grads who took a few French classes in high school and barely passed. They are science nerds but language flunkees whose French sucks monkey balls. If they spoke French well, then they would be making more money as deposition and court translators than they are being paid lower wages by Microsoft for entry level customer service technician services. They make the same as the English reps, which is next to nothing.
My cousin is a court translator in spanish, he speak the language for years, and he has been a translator of paperwork (and even translated a book with another guy) and yet he says its the hardest of everything he does. Because its simultaneous, you basically have to talk while the other is still talking. But hey you know that im sure... lol. So you need a VERY HIGH LEVEL of second language to do that. I could not do it in english even if i was offered the job tomorow...
Its true some of them are not that good (microsoft employees) but most of them are actually not that bad, they will only have a little trouble when you use too much quebec french like for exemple if you say "ma xbox est fucké tabarnak, a marche pus, ke c faut j'fasse". But granted even a parisian would not understand this...
beaucoup d'Indy à Mtl qui proviennent de l'extérieur du Québec qui sont unilingues anglaise. , leur séjour ''temporaire'' dure depuis déjà plusieurs années et qu'elles se vantent de parler espagnol, portugais ou même un peu le farsi. Mais, même pas foutu de baragouiner un ''Bonjour, ça va?'' après tout ce temps????
elles n'en sentent pas le besoin et elles s'en foutent royalement, malheureusement!
Qu'esce que le farsi? Le language des dindes? LOL dsl elle était trop facile. Ouais je sais, ces un peu comme les joueurs de hockey qui passe leur carriere a Montreal et que les seuls mot qu'ils savent dire est "merci beaucoup" et "bonjour". Je sais dire sa en russe, en japonais et en allemand et pourtant j'ai jamais été dans ces pays. Bref ces pas bin bin dur mettons. Aprendre un minimum de phrase serais pas pire, surtout qu a 2-3 millions par années ou plus, disons ta les moyens de te le payer le prof... Pour revenir au SP bah si leur business fonctionne ces correct. Ces sur qu'avant tout on est pas la pour la conversation sa va sans dire... Mais bon ces tellement plus le fun tombé sur une fille que tu peut communiqué avec, que se sois dans la langue mais aussi dans tes passions. Genre j'en ai pogné une coupe qui gamais et on parlais de jeu, s'etait le fun et facile car pour moi sa vien naturellement. Yen a d'autre que serieux je savais pas quoi dire et elle a parlais pas non plus, genre akward silence ou j'ai du precipité le sex plus ou moin parce que s'etait trop bizarre. Mais bon sa va dans l'autre sense aussi, j'en ai vu certaine qui n'arretais pas de parler a un moment, et je suis assez "grande gueule" moi meme, avant je m'en rendre compte le temps fillais et on avais 20 min de passé. Pour sa je joke la dessus des fois et je dit que JE suis clock watcher parce que sinon je pourais parler et le temps passerais sans que je m'en rendent compte. Enfin bref ces un peu loin du sujet dsl.
Example, I am looking for potato salad, in IGA I asked 2 store attendants for salad patat ( french accent ) both guys had no idea what I was saying, finally after 3 m8n of trying to explain one of them days Ah.. salad du patat... now WTF is that all about, and there are many more examples like that.
Depends on how you pronounce. Honestly if you say "salade patate" just like that he could even think you are calling him a patate... lol. Its a french expression to call somebody an idiot. So you may have sound like "i want a salad, patate" Im just saying. Its not the most common food too. Honestly im sure the clerks just legitly didn't know what you where talking about. Usually we apreciate when peoples try there best to speak in french. Once i was at the hotel and the chinese clerk was terrible in french but he tried hard, i let him try it for maybe 2-3 mins then i said politely i apreciate the effort but its cool we can talk in english. His pronounciation was terrible but the guy is chinese !! Its a very different language than his own for a start and was probably like a 4th language for him. French is surely much more easy to learn for an english person than a chinese person. Kinda like it would be much easier for me to learn spanish than chinese.
An anglo in Montreal has no issues, an anglo in small town Quebec does.
Yes cause most peoples only speak french in small towns in Quebec as its our language. We don't need to communicate otherwise. Honestly i can count on my hands the number of times i encountered english speaking persons in my own town, and i even was a clerk in a camping couple years ago. There is a few english towns tough , or should i say small towns with a larger english population than usual, but they have that "indian reserve" vibe if i can say, i mean its like you leave regular Quebec and arrive in a totally different place. I kinda had that feeling first time i got to Montreal on my own as an adult. It was a cultural shock.
To be able to communicate properly, you are dreaming for the most part, especially when it comes to people that regularly visit ten- twenty different countries.
Funny story my cousin who i said is a translator in spanish now, well he actually learn the language cause he was going in vacation in spanish countries. He took lessons to be sure to not have trouble communicating and he ended up where he is today. Now granted he may not had done as well in a more complex language, as spanish is pretty simple and close to french, but still his idea to take lessons was very good.
Now obviously i put myself in the shoes of persons who travel for vacation and such, not business man PDG that travel all the time in 20 countries as you say. Obviously when it comes to compagny stuff they will use the simpliest language. It make sense.
