In this video, I explain the differences between academic French and French spoken in "real life". Through 9 expressions, I show you what is different in each situation.

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0:00 - Introduction
0:32 - The negation
2:23 - These are
3:48 - "You" becomes "T
4:45 - "I" becomes "I
5:57 - "There is" becomes "There is
7:21 - This one / That one
8:17 - Please
9:09 AM - What is this?
9:51 - The bill
10:44 - Conclusion

Video transcript differences spoken language vs. academic French

Good morning to all of you. I hope you are well and that you are having a nice day. Today, we are going to see together 9 differences between written French, correct French and the way we speak it. Before you start, remember to activate the subtitles to make it easier to understand this video. Don't forget to subscribe to the Hellofrench channel so you don't miss any video.

The first difference that we will see concerns the negation in French, the difference between the negation, the way we write the negation and the way we mark it, we signal it orally. In French when we make a negative sentence, we will find "ne" and a little further "pas" or "n" "pas". So the "n" apostrophe. For example, I will say I am not hungry or you do not listen to me. The "ne" becomes an "n'" when a word with a vowel comes after. Here, for example, it is "je n'ai". The vowels in French are a e i o u and the y.

The difference that we will have between the negation in writing and in speaking is that very often, in speaking, the French will remove the "ne" or the "n'". Instead of saying "je n'ai pas faim", we will often say "j'ai pas faim" or instead of saying "tu ne m'écoutes pas" I will say "tu m'écoutes pas". The negation will only be marked by the "not".

The second difference is "c'est" and "ce sont". In correct French, when we write, if we speak in the singular, I will say "c'est mon chien". If I speak in the plural, I will say "ce sont mes chiens". I will say "c'est Catherine" because there is only one person, but if there are two people, I will say "ce sont Catherine et Vincent".

Very often, in speech, instead of marking the plural by putting, what is logical to grant the verb in the plural, we will very often say "it is" all the time. For example, I will say "it's my dogs", "it's Catherine and Vincent". So, of course, it's a mistake since we should normally agree, but in oral language, that's very often how we speak.

The third difference between written and spoken French concerns the "tu" which becomes an apostrophe "t" in spoken French. For example, in correct French, I would normally say "tu es content" or "tu a du temps pour m'aider?

Very often, when speaking, "you" will turn into "you." So instead of saying "are you happy?", I'll say "are you happy?" or instead of saying "do you have time to help me?" I'm going to say "do you have time to help me?"

The next difference is that the "I" becomes the apostrophe "j". Sometimes, the "I" becomes "j'" in front of vowels. This is quite normal. For example, I'll say "I'm fine", but I'll say "I have blond hair", so that's normal, that's correct French, both in writing and in speaking.

But very often, the "I" will become "j'" so j even in front of consonants, for example, instead of saying "I want a glass of water", I will say "I want a glass of water" or instead of saying "I am fine", I will say "I am fine".

The next difference concerns the expression "il y a", which becomes "y a" in spoken French. This expression "il y a" in French is used in different contexts, in different situations. The first one is to talk about a past event. For example, I can say "I got my license two years ago". It can also be used to refer to something in the context, something or someone even, in the present context, in what is happening.

For example, I can say "there are two pastries in the fridge, choose your favorite".

Very often, the "there is" will be contracted to be said more quickly. We will say "there is" for example I will say "I got my license two years ago". Or "there are two pastries in the fridge, choose your favorite". The next difference is that "this one" and "that one" become "this one" and "that one" when spoken. For example, if someone asks me "do you want some cheese?" I can answer "yes, this one, oh no, rather that one".

A lot of times we'll contract the word and I'll respond if asked the same question "do you want cheese?" I'll say "yes, this one, oh no, more like this one."

The next difference is the expression "please". Please is a polite word when you are on first-name terms with someone, when you are on first-name terms with someone, the most polite version is "please" but when you are on first-name terms with the person, you say "please".

"Please," turns into "please." For example, instead of saying "Can I please have a glass of water?", I will say "Can I please have a glass of water?"

The next difference is "what is" which very often, in speech, turns into "what". For example, instead of saying "what do you want to eat?" I will say "what do you want to eat?". "What do you like better? Pizza or pasta?" I'll say "what do you prefer? Pizza or pasta?" We often delete the "that" in speaking.

The next difference is the French "oui". "Oui" the opposite of "non". Very often, when French people speak, "oui" will turn into "ouais". For example, if I ask you "are you learning French?" You may answer "yeah, I'm learning French" instead of saying "yes, I'm learning French."

Like I said, it's in colloquial language. You can't say that in a restaurant or with your boss. Besides, in French, there are many different ways to say "yes", to show that you agree depending on the context. I will soon make a new video to explain and teach you different ways to say "yes" depending on the context, the situation, the person you are talking to. That's it for today.

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See you soon.