My Scottish husband and I have been living in France for nearly four and a half years. We talk English with each other, but in the work place it is mostly French. It wasn't long before French words started cropping up in our conversations. We do apologise to friends when this happens, as it's not a sign of pretentiousness but merely us getting comfortable in our surroundings. We do lampoon our self by quoting an Armstrong and Miller sketch:
I've only been living in France for 20 months, but are already forgetting the English.
The other day I caught myself having the following conversation with my cat Clicquot:
Me: Oi
He: What? (stopping temporarily from trying to pry open the kitchen cupboard.)
Me: Just gonnie no. ( translation: don't do that!)
He: How? (transl: Why?)
Me: I dinnea want you raking in the Poubelle. (Transl.: I don't want you to go through the stuff in the bin.)
I had to throw a coaster at him to get the message across; cats don't get negation.
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