ANDRE BEGIN

How fortunate was I in having grown up in an environment that made me fluently bilingual?

From the very beginning, English and French surrounded me to the point that I have always been able to think and speak in both languages and could switch back and forth without missing a beat.

During my pre-school years, we spoke French at home. Meanwhile, at my daytime caregiver’s home, we spoke English.

Later, the schools I attended were French, but in growing up in a predominantly English speaking part of town, English was the language of choice in the playground. Meanwhile, at home, when the television was on, many of the programs we watched were of American origin given our proximity to the Canada-U.S. border.

That being the case, I was hard wired for both languages as I set out into the world.

It was during my university years that the balance started shifting a little. Even though I went to a bilingual university, for some of the courses, I opted for the English option.

During the career years, helping clients from coast to coast called upon my versatility to serve in the language of choice of the client. Whether that meant that my days were spent mostly in English or French did not matter to me. The ability to correctly and confidently articulate technical jargon in two languages was a source of pure joy to me.

However, when you add to the equation my listening to English language radio stations for news, weather and traffic, then English language TV shows and movies for entertainment, I didn’t realize that something was happening.

Despite my daily interactions in French, I increasingly found myself pausing mid-sentence and searching for certain words and idioms in my mother tongue. Oh-oh! Was my French getting rusty?

As that happened, when I spoke French, a hint of an accent started appearing. However, I discovered that 15 minutes into a conversation with another francophone, the accent faded away and my mother tongue reappeared. It was (and still is) little like a linguistic game of hide-and-seek.

What I find interesting and amusing is that the accent also shows up first thing in the morning before I’ve had a chance to warm up the connections to the power of speech. Is it because I mostly dream in English? Is it the absence of caffeine?

In being aware of my occasional accent, I could understand how someone might jump to the conclusion that French wasn’t my mother tongue. It is a strange phenomenon that can get a little embarrassing around my francophone family and friends.

While I have to come to accept my part-time accent, it’s the reaction that it elicits that can become a source of humour.

When I’m in a bilingual establishment speaking French and my little accent is present, it is the strangest sensation when store clerks and waiting staff switch to English on me. It always puts a smile on my face when they do.

I take it in stride that it is likely with the best of intentions that they want me to feel at home and comfortable in their establishment, in assuming that English is my mother tongue. I also allow for the possibility that some may be doing this for their own benefit in practicing their English to keep it in top form. Either way, I’m fine with that.

If only they knew that they didn’t need to change languages and that my accent would disappear if we just kept going.

Just recently, a new record was broken for how long it took for someone to switch languages on me. It happened while picking up breakfast. After the clerk greeted me with “Good morning, Bonjour”, indicating to me that she was indeed bilingual, I responded with “Bonjour” and recited my order in French. Why the clerk switched to English for her follow-up questions about my order is anyone’s guess.

Was my accent that strong that morning? It was early, so I knew I wasn’t warmed up yet. Just the same, her quick switch made me smile.

At the end of the day, I know that it’s not that I’m losing my French language or my French culture. They are part of who I am and how I grew up. In retirement I have gone back to watching French TV programs, simply because I don’t hear as many ambient conversations in French. I miss the dialects, the colloquialisms and even the swear words that I grew up with.

When I was much younger, my paternal grandmother gushed over my seamless ability to switch back-and-forth between English and French, calling it (in French) “a treasure of riches” to have that ability which I believe she envied. I haven’t forgotten that sentiment, and I always appreciated the fact that I was indeed lucky to have English and French so deeply ingrained in me.

I think the key to maintenance now is to keep the brain cells firing in French whether that means TV, radio, books, podcasts or any opportunity to converse, just to ensure I don’t get rusty and have people switch languages on me unexpectedly.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André