2/21    What is the correct pronunciation for "le boeuf sur let toit"?
        Is it "le buu sir ley tuahh?" Am I close?
        \_ Yup, that's almost exactly right.  The f in boeuf isn't
           silent, though.  (Did you mean "le boeuf sur le toit"?)
        \_ Yup, that's almost exactly right.  You do pronounce the f
           in boeuf, though.  (Did you mean "le boeuf sur le toit"?)
           \_ Oh yeah, typo. Thanks for your help! BTW what's the best
              way to learn basic French so that I don't seem like an
              idiot when I order food?
              \- taking a french class to deal with haricots verts is silly.
                 there are a couple of mnemonics, like the "CaReFuL" rule ...
                 CRFL are the final consonants which are usually pronounced.
                 [boeuf, blanc, pinot noir] for lots of french words there
                 are english approximations which are good enough ... we
                 dont say France, Nicaragua, Mexico the way the natives
                 do. you dont want to do something egregious like say
                 "chab-liss" whih the "ch" like "chicken" but anything close
                 to "shub-lee" should be good enough. if i wanted chantilly
                 cream on something, saying it the native way while speaking
                 english would seem pretentious to me. fois gras,
                 [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Chantilly (click to hear)]
                 chateauneuf du pape, sauvignon blanc ... i'd just say them
                 they way you'ld expect to say them. the final consonant
                 rule is good to know, but beyond that, who cares if you
                 get the notorious french "r" correct? how often do you need
                 to ask for directions to Reims? If you dont know how to
                 say something or what something is, just ask. i recommend
                 the coquilles st jacques. --psb
                 the coquilles st jacques.
                 BTW, somewhat ironically (i have terrible spoken french)
                 the only word i've been corrected on by a waitperson in
                 the US was "darjeeling". i think the person correcting me
                 felt kinda stupid after i asked him "have you been there?"
                 and took another look at me. i do have a funny story about
                 ordering some "viande" up on montmartre, but it doesnt
                 "translate" into the motd well. oh at a bistro in the 8e
                 this dood thought i asked for "un coke, monsieur" when i
                 asked for a "croque monsiuer" [ham and cheese] but french
                 friends say he was probably just being an ass. --psb
              \_ Take a beginning French class at a community college.
                 \_ Every day when I open a newspaper and look and the world's
                    economic trends, every year when the new demographic trends
                    of the U.S. come out, every time I walk down the street
                    and hear a language that isn't English I think "Gee I sure
                    wish I knew more French!  Screw all those crap languages
                    like Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, and Russian, I'm going to
                    study the Language of Tomorrow, the Language of Progress...
                    French!"  'Cause remember, the best reason to learn a
                    language isn't to get a better job, meet interesting people,
                    travel the world, order food at a good(asian) restaurant,
                    or get laid--the purpose of learning a language is to
                    impress culture snob nerds on the motd.
                    \_ The "get laid" aspect is still applicable to a community
                       college French class. So is the travelling/people aspect
                       unless you hate France and the other French speaking
                       places which is more than most think (but most of which
                       aren't economically important). Maybe they already know
                       Spanish etc anyway. In reality most of us don't need to
                       know anything but English.
                       If you just want to get some basic language exposure the
                       Pimsleur audio lessons are helpful. But then you don't
                       interact with community college chicks.
                    \_ As someone who spent almost 1/2 of his K-12 schooling
                       learning French, I completely agree that it is not a
                       particularly useful language. The languages you name
                       would be far more useful, but would in no way help OP
                       accomplish his objective of learning proper French
                       pronunciation.
                       BTW, practicality is not the only reason to learn a
                       new language. Otherwise, why learn Greek, Latin or
                       Sanskrit? The opportunity to read Homer, Ovid or
                       Valmiki in the original language can be considered
                       "priceless," to borrow a term.
                       \- i thought this was "priceless":
                             ...At the Vatican, bishops appointments are still
                             written on papyrus in  Latin as are letters of
                             congratulations   from  the  pope,   but  many
                             bishops  and cardinals  write back  asking for
                             translations.
                          "Dona nobis translation" --psb
        \_ It always sounded more like: "Number 17 please," to me...