Chocolatine or Pain au Chocolat? Talking Accents in France
Chat about regional accents and words in France, and handle the moment you don't understand a strong accent.
France has strong regional accents: the sing-song southern accent of Marseille and Toulouse, the northern accent of Lille, and the fast Parisian one, which locals often think is 'no accent'. Some everyday words change by region, the most famous being chocolatine in the southwest for a pain au chocolat. Belgians and Swiss say septante and nonante for 70 and 90, and regional languages such as Occitan, Breton or Alsatian are still spoken by some older people.
- 1
Tu as un accent de quelle région ?
Which region is your accent from?
- 2
Ça s'entend que je suis pas d'ici, hein ?
You can tell I'm not from around here, can't you?
- 3
Dans le Sud-Ouest, on dit « chocolatine ».
In the southwest they say chocolatine.
- 4
À Marseille, les gens ont l'accent qui chante.
In Marseille, people have a sing-song accent.
- 5
J'ai pas compris un mot.
I didn't understand a single word.
- 6
Tu peux répéter plus doucement ?
Can you say it again more slowly?
- 7
Ça veut dire quoi, ce mot ?
What does that word mean?
- 8
C'est une expression régionale ?
Is that a regional expression?
- 9
On dit pas ça à Paris.
We don't say that in Paris.
- 10
En Belgique, on dit septante au lieu de soixante-dix.
In Belgium they say septante instead of soixante-dix.
- 11
Les Parisiens parlent super vite.
Parisians talk really fast.
- 12
Il a un accent à couper au couteau.
He's got a really thick accent.
- 13
Je commence à m'habituer à l'accent.
I'm starting to get used to the accent.
- 14
T'as pas du tout d'accent !
You don't have an accent at all!
- 15
Tout le monde a un accent, même les Parisiens.
Everyone has an accent, even Parisians.
- 16
Ma grand-mère parle encore occitan.
My grandmother still speaks Occitan.
- 17
C'est un mot du Nord.
It's a word from the north.
- 18
Je parle comme un livre.
I talk like a textbook.
- 19
Te moque pas de mon accent !
Don't make fun of my accent!
- 20
J'adore ton accent !
I love your accent!