ATTN: ANY FLUENT FRENCH-SPEAKERS!
Nov. 20th, 2011 07:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rowanberriesHello!
So I am playing a French woman in a partially-scripted Murder Mystery evening in a couple of weeks - the trouble is that while my half-arsed accent is consistent enough to pass muster, it is highly likely that some bastard will try to question me in French during the interrogation rounds. (We have three rounds where the suspects go up to audience tables and answer any question in-character.)
Can anybody give me a quick-and dirty phrase or two that I can use to acknowledge 'yes you're very clever, this character is indeed fluent, but we'll be doing this in English'? Some other characters also have sections in German, but we do at least have a fluent German-speaker on the production team. I don't want to resort to Babelfish!
What I would like to say:
I think this investigation should be conducted in English for the benefit of your fellow detectives, don't you?
Your accent is terrible.
I think we should speak English.
This is not relevant to the investigation.
At a pinch, I could just keep everything in English, but the whole idea is to immerse the audience as far as possible - even in an emergency we do not break character (there are 'assistant detectives' wandering about who intercede instead).
Any help will be met with utmost gratitude! And a favour back, if it's in my power - icons, drabbles, threads. I will try!
Cheers!
So I am playing a French woman in a partially-scripted Murder Mystery evening in a couple of weeks - the trouble is that while my half-arsed accent is consistent enough to pass muster, it is highly likely that some bastard will try to question me in French during the interrogation rounds. (We have three rounds where the suspects go up to audience tables and answer any question in-character.)
Can anybody give me a quick-and dirty phrase or two that I can use to acknowledge 'yes you're very clever, this character is indeed fluent, but we'll be doing this in English'? Some other characters also have sections in German, but we do at least have a fluent German-speaker on the production team. I don't want to resort to Babelfish!
What I would like to say:
I think this investigation should be conducted in English for the benefit of your fellow detectives, don't you?
Your accent is terrible.
I think we should speak English.
This is not relevant to the investigation.
At a pinch, I could just keep everything in English, but the whole idea is to immerse the audience as far as possible - even in an emergency we do not break character (there are 'assistant detectives' wandering about who intercede instead).
Any help will be met with utmost gratitude! And a favour back, if it's in my power - icons, drabbles, threads. I will try!
Cheers!
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no subject
Date: 2011-11-20 08:50 pm (UTC)As for the French, a straight translation:
I think this investigation should be conducted in English for the benefit of your fellow detectives, don't you?
Ne pensez-vous que cette investigation sera mieux conduite en Anglais pour l'avantage des détectives associés?
Your accent is terrible.
Vôtre accent est (térrible) horrible.
I think we should speak English.
Je croît que nous devrons parler en Anglais.
This is not relevant to the investigation.
Cela n'est pas nécessaire à l'investigation.
If the detectives are English, and their French is truly terrible, an eye-roll with a snotty:
S'il-te-plaît. Arrêter. Ce n'est pas nécessaire de m'insulter avec vôtre pauvre attentat en Francais.
Should do (Please. Stop. It isn't necessary to insult me with your poor attempt at French.)
no subject
Date: 2011-11-21 02:22 am (UTC)And yes, it is bags of fun. :D It's a university drama society production, and the Director is also the writer, so we're doing our best by him. The Students Union is providing dinner and drinks from the bar, so we can even run it like a professional evening!
(Did I ever even get round to saying hello on your journal, or did I stealth-friend? I do that sometimes. :S Needless to say, I really love the Loaded March series, and it's a really good idea to have a tracking journal too - otherwise it would just be the refresh button every few days! You obviously put a lot of work into your writing, and it really shows.)
Anyhow - thanks again! I'll post about how it goes!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-22 12:00 am (UTC)Anytime :)
I wish there had been something like that when I was in uni, but I was in the totally wrong department for that, on another part of campus, even if there had been...
(You might have, and I might have Swiss cheese for brains and am having a memory!fail moment. That's OK either way :) Hearing that people like LM makes me happy, but, I'll be honest that I never expected SO MANY people to comment on it to say the same thing!)
no subject
Date: 2011-11-20 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-21 02:23 am (UTC)Also, I am totally the team Mum, being one of only two postgrads involved.
The Freshers are so teeny!
no subject
Date: 2011-11-20 10:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-21 02:25 am (UTC)Seriously, I would have no clue if anything I said was wildly off the mark, so double confirmation is great!
(My pronounciation may still be off, but I think I can pass. French is more logical than English that way!)