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Leçon 1 – Greetings and Salutations

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Vocabulaire

The symbol (n) will represent the very nasal, almost unpronounced French sound. To achieve this sound (or something resembling it), say ing (as in “sing”). Draw out the ng sound, but do not pronounce the “g.”

French
Pronunciation
English
Bonjour!
Boh(n)-zhoor
Hello! / Good morning!
Salut!
Sah-loo
Hi! / Bye! (like “aloha,” informal)
Comment allez-vous?
Cohmoh(n) tallay voo
How are you? (formal)
Je vais:
bien/mal/comme ci comme ça.
Zhuh vay:
bie(n)/mahl/come see comme sah
I'm doing:
well/badly/so-so
Comment vas-tu?
Cohmoh(n) vah too
How are you? (informal)
Ça va?
Sah vah
How are you? How's it going? (informal)
Je vais/Ça va:
bien/mal/comme ci comme ça.
Zhuh vay/Sah vah: bie(n)/mahl/come see comme sah
I'm doing/It's going (informal):
well/badly/so-so.
Et vous?
Ay voo
And you? (formal)
Et toi?
Ay twah
And you? (informal)
Au revoir!
Oh rivwah
Good bye!

Practice the following conversations (in French). If you are by yourself, you should do funny voices for each character!!!

Informal
A - Hello, Mother Teresa! How's it going?
B – Hi, Pope Benedict! It's going well. And you?
A – Oh, I'm doing so-so. Good bye!
B – Bye!

Formal
A – Good morning, Abraham Lincoln.
B – Hello, Frederick Douglas! How are you?
A – I am doing well. And you?
B – I am doing badly. Good bye.
A – Good bye.
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