The French accent is one of my favorite subjects to discuss because it remains such a mystery to both Americans and the French. Why? Because Americans are immediately entranced by the sound of a French person speaking English and the French don’t hear anything at all.  

Trust me, both parties are totally surprised by this.

Clearly, the French are completely mystified as to why Americans are in love with the French accent to begin with. They don’t think it’s a big deal – and by “not a big deal”, I mean not a deal at all. Most of the French that I talk with don’t like their accent one bit and are trying to lose it.

Try this. Ask any French person that you may know if they think their accent is romantic or seductive and they’ll likely tell you “pas vraiment” (not really). This is because they grew up speaking French, everyone they know speaks French, and it’s the same French they’ve used to navigate the world since forever.

So, for them, French has just always been … there.

In other words, not only is speaking French or speaking English with a French accent not a big deal, the impact of their accent on non-French speakers is completely lost on them.

“Je dis non. Gardez vos accents, les Français !” (I say no. Keep your accents, French people!)

Remember this: while Americans hear harmonies of romantic love when a French person is speaking English, a French person hears … wait for it … English.

If you’re an American, I’m sure you’re puzzled by this because the French accent is so loved and adored across American society. Let me explain it just a bit more and hopefully you’ll realize that as an American you’ve probably experienced the same phenomenon.

Did you take French or any other language in high school or college? Yes? Do you remember hearing your accent? Not at all. You probably had no idea that you were even speaking with an accent (you definitely were) and even if you did, you probably thought no one ever heard it (your language professor definitely did).

This is why the French accent is, for the most, totally lost on the French.

To me, this also captures the essence of how two great cultures couldn’t possibly, but very much do, misunderstand each other. And it is very common – although I won’t cover that topic in detail here.

Teaser Time. Other misunderstandings for future blog posts that I will be writing about are:

• French waiters (they are not rude)
• American logos on clothing (crazy to the French)
• French women appearing not to wear make-up (they do wear make-up but lightly – they primarily take great care of their skin so they won’t need much make-up)
• American chocolate (it’s milk chocolate and way too sweet for the French palate)
• French “haute cuisine” and “gastronomie” (there is simply no equivalent to these in American society so when you’re next in France, be sure to budget for both)
• American words in the French language (“les anglicismes” which are sometimes perceived as cool by the French and other times as detrimental to the survival of the language)
• The French diet (the French don’t deprive themselves when it comes to food – they eat extraordinarily healthy and tasty meals in smaller portions which are spread evenly throughout the day)

I could go on and on.

But back to the French accent!

Americans love when a French person speaks English because the accent is lilting, romantic, seductive, and, yes, very sexy, but they can’t pinpoint exactly why they find it so.

And if you’re French and don’t believe me, all you have to do is start speaking English and Americans will immediately begin to smile when they hear your accent.

French people, these are the reasons why Americans find your accent so lovely:

• French is spoken more in the throat while English more in the nose and the mouth. Because of this, French people seem to speak English more deeply. And in English, when someone speaks more deeply, it usually means they’re speaking to you on a more intense and personal level.
• The French are taught in their schools that pronunciation is a key element of speaking the French language correctly. It is virtually sacrilegious to drop consonants (like a “t” or “r” from the end of a word) or mumble words and sentences. Because the French are taught to speak their own language so clearly, they use their lips far more than Americans do to pronounce words in English. And yes, this seemingly exaggerated lip movement also adds to the sultry nature of the French accent.
• Finally, the “liaison” that is so much a part of the French language, and can clearly be heard when the French speak English, plays an outsized role in the lilt of the French accent. If you don’t already know, “liaison” is the French grammatical rule of mixing the last letter of a French word with the first letter of the following word so that the resulting sound of the two words spoken together is smooth and pleasing to the ear. When French people do this in English, it is terribly sexy.   

There are actually several more reasons why Americans are enamored of the French accent like the pronunciation of the English “u” which sounds more like “euuuw” in English or the “th” which many French pronounce “z” but we won’t go down that road today.

Whether you’re American or French, I hope you now have a much clearer idea of why Americans love the French accent and why the French for the most part are perplexed by Americans who love to hear them speak English.

One final point. Many French equate improving their English to losing their French accent. This is crazy talk to an American. Why would you want to lose something that everyone thinks is beautiful and makes everyone around you smile? But unfortunately, many French do.

Let’s be clear. If you’re French, you can speak beautiful and grammatically correct English – probably far better than most Americans – with a gorgeous French accent. It will definitely set you apart and Americans will thank you for making their world a more beautiful place just by talking with them.

Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below. We are all learning from each other all of the time.

Bonne chance !