Mr. L

I don't think I speak like a stereotypical Canadian, eh! I am educated and love to throw out giant words now and then. Those of you who don't know that most Canadians actually speak just like Americans with a few more ehs now and then, now you know. We usually don't sound like truckers but once in a while we will say things differently. Anyone out there love the Canadian accent? I think its hilarious and I especially love the Newfie accent. I could talk to them for hours. They are such funny, kind-hearted people. Thoughts?

I have to say, I actually developed anxiety from trying to speak French. I believe it was my bachelor's degree that started it all. I forced myself to get a degree with an extended major in French without a background in French to get a job as a teacher in Canada; which is tough. I remember trying to decipher ancient French thinking, "What am I doing? I can't even read ancient English!" I found I was afraid to speak French with the french people I new and it didn't help when some of them were rude to me. I remember asking a fellow from France, "D'ou venez-vous?" Which as far as I know means, where are you from. He kept asking me what I was saying over and over until I said, France? He was from France. I guess what I said was wrong but he was very rude and made me feel very stupid. I wonder, have any of you had a bad experience speaking French?

Um, the hardest part about speaking French for me is speaking French. I have very few people avec qui je peux pratiquer. I can write and listen to French. I can understand it fairly well but I cannot speak it as well. My pronunciation is great apparently but my vocab is not well developed and I find it hard to find my words sometimes. I often end up talking around a subject rather than about the intended subject matter, arg! :speechless:

The use of the semicolon can be quite difficult to understand. Here is how the correct usage of the semicolon: When you join independent clauses with an adverb, a semicolon should separate the two clauses and a comma should follow the conjunctive adverb (like in the final sentence of the previous paragraph). Ex. However, furthermore. You also can use a semicolon to join two independent sentences (clauses) that are closely related. I left the party early; I had a headache. In this example, a comma isn't enough, but a period is not good either. You can also use a semicolon to separate items in a series that already contain commas, such as in this example: Please pick up some chicken, fish and game meat; apples, oranges, bananas; and some milk.