General News & Information about Albert, Charlene & Family 2: March 2012 - May 2015

[Moonmaiden23]

I don't care to "convince" anyone cepe, nor do I need to. It's my opinion and my contribution the ongoing discussion.

For the record, there has been more than one incident where Charlene did not make an effort to attempt even basic French.

[Ish]

Being a disciplined individual with the best resources doesn't mean that she's personally skilled at learning languages. She may have tried very hard and may have the ability to read, write, and even understand spoken French, but could find herself unable to speak it in a way, and with an accent, that she feels is understandable. What's more is given as fluency in English is something that is apparently common within Monaco, and within the royal family, she may not have nearly as much opportunity to immerse herself in French as we are assuming.

[cepe]

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

I don't care to "convince" anyone cepe, nor do I need to. It's my opinion and my contribution the ongoing discussion.

For the record, there has been more than one incident where Charlene did not make an effort to attempt even basic French.

I didnt ask you to convince me but if would have helped others (one reason for the forum, I think) if you could have given a concrete example. The fact that you "dont care" speaks for itself.

[Moonmaiden23]

She doesn't sing the National Anthem on National Day, ever. (see youtube for your " concrete examples")Not one word. With the exception of her engagement and wedding she has rarely been recorded uttering a word of the official language of the country she represents on the world stage.

If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd be fascinated to hear it..

[cepe]

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

She doesn't sing the National Anthem on National Day, ever. (see youtube for your " concrete examples")Not one word. With the exception of her engagement and wedding she has rarely been recorded uttering a word of the official language of the country she represents on the world stage.

If you have evidence to the contrary, I'd be fascinated to hear it..

Im not trying to prove anything. I put up an alternative view in post #794. I stand by it. I envy all you posters who have obviously have no problem in being fluent in a foreign language. As I said, I can't get there and I've been trying for a long time.

[Moonmaiden23]

I can't speak any language fluently except English. But I would hope I could if I had access to Charlene's resources and her time.

All I am saying is that she could at least appear to make an effort. She does not, and I find it disappointing.

[cepe]

It isnt always about resources. For Charlene it may be more about confidence. But the reality is we dont really know. I'm just trying to say that there may be another answer than just she isn't either trying or worried about it.

[Argie]

The fact of the matter is that Charlene does not speak French after spending 8 years in Monaco. The reason is of little consequence to me, regardless from which angle I look at it.

[MARG]

Originally Posted by cepe

Im not trying to prove anything. I put up an alternative view in post #794. I stand by it. I envy all you posters who have obviously have no problem in being fluent in a foreign language. As I said, I can't get there and I've been trying for a long time.

To me trying to learn to speak French is like finding out you are tone deaf! With the best will in the world I mangle it. I know it is subtle and has nuances but I'm afraid it's all french (or german or russian or spanish or italian . . .) to me. I dinna ken!

Originally Posted by Moonmaiden23

I can't speak any language fluently except English. But I would hope I could if I had access to Charlene's resources and her time.

All I am saying is that she could at least appear to make an effort. She does not, and I find it disappointing.

Resources may not be her problem and, to be honest, you don't know how much effort she has or has not made.

Originally Posted by cepe

It isnt always about resources. For Charlene it may be more about confidence. But the reality is we dont really know. I'm just trying to say that there may be another answer than just she isn't either trying or worried about it.

Ah confidence! Of all languages to mangle French is one you don't! The French are language snobs and heckle the unfortunate who mispronounces or misses the nuances. PG was perfectly aware of that and took measures to ensure she gave no opportunity for people the snipe and pick at her language skills until such time as she was comfortable.

Originally Posted by Argie

The fact of the matter is that Charlene does not speak French after spending 8 years in Monaco. The reason is of little consequence to me, regardless from which angle I look at it.

Actually that is not a fact. What is a fact is that she does not speak publicly in French. What she does or does not speak in private is unknown and, quite frankly, none of our business.

[Moonmaiden23]

MARG, frankly very little of what we discuss about these people is any of our business.

But some public message boards exist to discuss famous people, and to exchange our opinions/ideas about various apects of their lives and this is one of them.

I don't see anything unfair in discussing the fact that the Princess of Monaco cannot speak French after 8 years of continuous residency in Monaco.

If it was Mary in Denmark not speaking Danish or Maxima in the Netherlands not speaking Dutch, it would be no less an issue.

[Lenora]

Speaking and comprehension aptitiudes could be quite different. From one side, one could say she barely did some efforts, but she hadn't lived for 8 years only in France or another French speaking country.
Maybe her skills are not quite strong, she has a good listening comprehension of French, but she is afraid of speaking French, especially publicly. She probably doesn't have enough confidence in her linguistic abilities.

[fandesacs2003]

I thing we should not try to find hidden reasons.
She is living for 8 years in full immersion of french, she has money to afford the best teachers and she has TIME. Before her engagement/marriage she had no official obligations, so pleinty of time every day to learn, but the result is a catastrophy.
She is no mentally retarded, so i found only ond reason for her failing what Maxima, Mary or Marie have fully succeeded: she does not care!
The question of learning ability interfere for people who try to learn a language dealing to combine time, money and family life, but not for the Princess of Monaco disposing ALL the necessary ressources for this.

[USAPolitics]

Originally Posted by fandesacs2003

I thing we should not try to find hidden reasons.
She is living for 8 years in full immersion of french, she has money to afford the best teachers and she has TIME. Before her engagement/marriage she had no official obligations, so pleinty of time every day to learn, but the result is a catastrophy.
She is no mentally retarded, so i found only ond reason for her failing what Maxima, Mary or Marie have fully succeeded: she does not care!
The question of learning ability interfere for people who try to learn a language dealing to combine time, money and family life, but not for the Princess of Monaco disposing ALL the necessary ressources for this.

I think everyone should relax. The Monegasque people don't seen to mind, and that's really all that matters. They're the only people who she really owes anything in her role as HSH Princess. If it were a problem, they would make enough noise to get their way--as they did when Princess Grace wanted to go back to acting.

[melina premiere]

She speaks here french

Vido Zone interdite : Intimit et pouvoir : un an dans la vie du Prince Albert de Monaco ! - M6

[melina premiere]

and Princess Charlene singing the anthem of Monaco during the pic nic at Monaco

Le Couple Princier pique-nique avec les Monégasques - YouTube

[tommy100]

I completely understand Princess Charlene's inability to speak fluent french. I lived for10+ years in Wales, like Monaco it has a national language - Welsh - but the vast majority of people, well pretty much everyone, speak English. I had to learn Welsh at school but I can say in 10years I never learnt enough to hold a conversation. I'm not proud of it and looking back I wish I'd tried more, but I just couldnt get my headaround the language and, to be honest, I never had to. There was never one single sitatuion where I would ever have had to speak Welsh and those around me, friends and family, where in exactly the same situation.
I'm sure for Charlene its the same, she is most likely not emerged in the language if her friends and family do not speak French all of the time. I would imagine to be honest the most places in Monaco speak English (Shops, resturants etc) so she is not completely surrounded in the language. From myexpereince I can say unless you have not choice but to use a new language, e.g. French, you fall back on that which you already know just by instinct.
That being said I would be surprised and a little dissapointed, if Charlene wasn't using some simple phrases in French. I use to (and still can) say please, thank you, hello, how are you, sorry my welsh is awful, etc in Welsh and would use these when I could. I found people appreciated the fact I'd try to use the language even just a little. But that beingsaid I don't follow Charlene's activities to know for sure that she does not.

[melina premiere]

Tommy100, you would like to hear chaelene saying usual phrases in french
it is what she did in this video I posted one comment ahead

Vido Zone interdite : Intimit et pouvoir : un an dans la vie du Prince Albert de Monaco ! - M6

I poste again this video because I think that anybody did not see and does not want to see she is saying some simple phrases in french. perhaps also many people do not understand the french language.

I learnt french at school 40 years ago, I use it when I travel in England, in Usa or in a land where english is spoken. I understand texts in english but I do not speak english fluently, I have many difficult to understand when a person is spoken english to me and I have always many difficult to speak english very well.Happily, I am not a princess because I would be always criticed because I would be unable to ask in english in an interview. Princess charlene said that it is a strungle for her to learn french and it will take her a lot of time before she will spoke fluently french. Charlene speaks africaner ( her former teacher said she did not speak africaner when she arrived in South Africa, she lived before in Zimbabwe, she learnt after africaner and she learnt also the language of deafs to understand her former training partner who was deaf. I believe that she will get a lot of critics before she speaks french fluently.

[EDOEP]

Originally Posted by melina premiere

Tommy100, you would like to hear chaelene saying usual phrases in french
it is what she did in this video I posted one comment ahead

Vido Zone interdite : Intimit et pouvoir : un an dans la vie du Prince Albert de Monaco ! - M6

I poste again this video because I think that anybody did not see and does not want to see she is saying some simple phrases in french. perhaps also many people do not understand the french language.

too funny - i really do apppreciate your sense of humour!

i personally wouldn't call charlene's attempts 'speak french'* - it's more stuttering a few words, a 4 word sentence at best. if this is the result of 8 years+ of living in france, we shall be lucky to listen to a normal conversation in about 165 years from now. i'll set a reminder on my PC

* i do understand and speak french, it was part of my 'baccalaureat' at a multilingual high school / college. unlike some less lucky other members, i have no problem whatsoever of learning and using foreign languages. i can tell you from my own expierence watching classmates - a huge part is practice practice practice and more practice!

[melina premiere]

EDOEP, thank you and you are lucky to understand and speak french . But you studied languages in a special languages section and I think you are very intelligent and you have very good capacities to learn languages. i think many other persons havenot your capacities to learn the languages as Charlene or other persons but other persons could have other capacities you do not have. we speak of human people and not of machines ,I think that charlene can say simple phrases to speak to people of Monaco when she attends an event in Monaco. And for the people of monaco it is enough, they understand their princess as these handicaped persons who were happy to speak with her. it is the matter for them no need to do very big phrases.
many persons have difficultis to answer in an interview in their native language. politic people have lessons to speak in public , i think it must be very difficult for a person who is foreighn and is asked to speak in a foreign language. it is perhaps easy for some persons but it is difficult for other persons, and they answer in their native language to say important things of their life.
Prince Albert, princess charlene answer to many interviews, other princesses, like princess Mary, princess letizia, queen maxima or queen mathilde did not give many intervews to the medias. prince Albert and princess charlene gave many interviews before their wedding and I think it is the third interviews she gave to the medias, 2 to the french TV and one to the monaco Radio. 3 in two years of wedding, no other princesses give so many interviews in so litttle times even the princesses as Mett Marit, Letizia and Duchess of cambridge. I will not speak of their speeches because they only read the notes the palace do for them.
And I will ask to many persons here do you understand what is saying in the article of monaco about the future interview of princess charlene whith Cytil Viguier ? . Could you translate all the article?

[FanofMonaco]

Charlene said in an interview that she always speaks French to palace staff so that she can practice. It appears to me that when she is with local people eg. the Monaco picnic she tries to speak French . She is more self conscious when on tv and talking to foreign press so she speaks English. That makes sense to me. The press have a nasty habit of playing gotcha. The 2 times shown above where she is speaking French was photographed by Monaco tv.

Even Charlotte, who learned Italian at birth from her father and Italian Casiraghis, said she is shy in Italian.