Is it difficult to learn a different dialect/accent?

[kate23]

I know that people say not to try to learn a particular dialect or accent of French when you're studying the language because then you'll be limiting your resources. So, is it easy to learn a different dialect or accent once you've got a good hold on French? Is that something that people commonly do?

[lei / Latifa]

Yes, very difficult. I have been taking French for a while. After taking French I am good at grammar and vocabulary. However, after two years of taking French I still sound  very American and have trouble pronouncing things in French.

[SpringBreeze]

Learning a different dialect should definitely be done after you have gained proficiency in the language. But once you've gained proficiency, you can devote your time to accent transition. And I don't think it is difficult. It just takes a lot of immersion. I do that for fun with my own language. I like listening to the British speak and then I repeat some of their words. So, I can now put on a bit of British accent when I want. The easiest way to do this is to move to the area of the accent you desire. In this case, it won't even be about learning. You'll just automatically pick it up after a few months since it's kind of a way of life.

[Frenchfried]

I am nowhere near understanding or speaking the dialect of my area. I live in northern France and they speak Ch'ti but I can barely handle proper french. I had the exact opposite experience in Italian where I learned the Roman dialect first then went back and filled in with proper Italian.

[MarcArgent]

First and foremost, you have to be fluent in French standard tone - the usual French we learn. After that you need to listen how people who speak in another accent or dialect. Pay attention on how they pronounce the words, their intonation and the sound overall and then try to imitate them. If you are fluent in standard French, you wouldn't have much difficulty because you already know the words or at least have an idea which word was pronounced.

[OddVisions]

I wish I knew. I was brought up around English-French-Spanish locale, so everyone sort of has the same dialect when I visit my hometown. When I hear foreign French, it seems like different regions have different levels of pitch; but that's about it as far as I can tell. Well, some of them also speak a little slower or faster too ;but that's not as common.

[Trellum]

If you are lucky and if you learn french well enough you will be able to understand those who speak using a dialect.  It's the same with Dutch, so don't worry, just focus on learning french well and the rest will come easily to you   At least it should.  Don't stress yourself. I'm going to live to a place where people speak different dutch dialects, am I worried? Not at all!