So, once you’ve scratched the surface, it doesn’t take much to realise the differences between the English mistake and the French fault and the implications these can have.
In theory, I can completely understand such a strict application of language for:
Although language is an art, it’s designated role is a facilitator for expressing thoughts, feelings and arguments, and this requires precision.
So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the French want to make sure that all francophones use the correct words in the correct way to convey the correct message. Perhaps that would help us all avoid so many misunderstandings and miscommunications, and thus avoid their severe consequences.
Although for a nervous newcomer, it can be a bit galling to arrive in a new country and have yourself corrected, when in fact, you’re just trying your best. I don’t mean to suggest, at all, that every person I’ve spoken to has corrected me every time I’ve made a mistake or that people have looked down on me for being foreign, for the most part, that wouldn’t accurately capture my experience in France. On the contrary, there have been people who have expressed how impressed they are by students who choose to study abroad and in a different language especially. However, there have been times where I’ve been corrected, and not in a way designed to help me but in a way designed to tell me I was wrong – especially when this happens in exams.
I’m not suggesting that this attitude is wrong: I’m in no position to suggest that anyone’s culture is wrong, but it certainly is a bit jarring coming from the upbringing that I’ve had. Perhaps what’s needed is more understanding on both sides: an understanding from the English that this is the French way, and that this is how they perceive their language, and from the French that learners shouldn’t be judged to the same standards as native speakers, as they are, after all, just learners. But in practice, as a foreign student or a tourist, it’s very difficult to hold yourself to such high standards of language precision: it’s only natural to forget the gender of a noun every once in a while or to use the wrong word. I don’t think it’s fair for natives to foreigners to be looked down upon foreigners for a mere mistake they make.
However, I do recognise that my opinion is only like this because of my background, in a language where a mistake is forgotten before it’s even been made, and that perhaps if I had been born French, I too would believe in such high standards of language precision. I even wonder if there’s a compromise between these two extremes, as a fault is quite serious and a mistake that’s forgotten so easily won’t help anyone to truly learn a language.
Language is a huge part of every culture, and a part that people should cherish, not change. However, a little understanding on both sides can go a long way, and I hope that I can take this experience with me so that the next time I’m speaking to someone who isn’t a native English speaker that I have a little more patience and a more relaxed and helpful attitude, so I can help them and not make them feel like they know nothing. For speaking a language is not just a gift, but it’s a lot of hard work and to even be able to converse in a different language at a basic level is admirable, and not something that should be intolerable.