The most trouble I actually had when I thought I KNEW what a word meant but it did not make sense in the context. And then I found out that there was another meaning.
That just happened to me! I couldn't figure out why the words in a song were about "the fish of money," and then it suddenly clicked that they meant "the fish of silver," aka the silver fish, because "argent" means both money and silver.
Watching Stargate DVDs in original language with English subtitles helped too.
I need to do this! I wish I could find something I want to watch that's in French with French subtitles. All I can find so far is French with English subtitles, or English with French subtitles. Very frustrating. I'm sure a French fan group would be helpful too, but I haven't found any yet, not even for "Ladybug et Chat Noir," which must have a French fan group somewhere since it's a French show.
It was a revelation that American English is easier to understand for me
LOL, we Americans sometimes can't understand British English, either! But it does get easier with time and exposure. It also depends on the accent involved. Classic Who, with everyone speaking Received Pronunciation, was always easy for me to understand, but New Who can be a little dicey sometimes depending on a character's accent. Then there was the time I had to use subtitles to watch David Tennant in "Broadchurch." He was using some ultra-Scottish accent that I just could not understand, even though I have absolutely no trouble understanding his real Scottish accent. It drove me crazy!
Psst -- the correct idiom is "proud as punch," not "proud as a punch." You inspired me to go look up the phrase's origin, and apparently it's based on old Punch and Judy puppet shows, and being as proud as the puppet Punch. But I am so impressed that you know it!
In fact, congratulations on all your work and progress! You should definitely be very proud of yourself. I only hope to someday be half as fluent with French as you are with English.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
(no subject)
Date: 2017-06-23 01:27 am (UTC)That just happened to me! I couldn't figure out why the words in a song were about "the fish of money," and then it suddenly clicked that they meant "the fish of silver," aka the silver fish, because "argent" means both money and silver.
Watching Stargate DVDs in original language with English subtitles helped too.
I need to do this! I wish I could find something I want to watch that's in French with French subtitles. All I can find so far is French with English subtitles, or English with French subtitles. Very frustrating. I'm sure a French fan group would be helpful too, but I haven't found any yet, not even for "Ladybug et Chat Noir," which must have a French fan group somewhere since it's a French show.
It was a revelation that American English is easier to understand for me
LOL, we Americans sometimes can't understand British English, either! But it does get easier with time and exposure. It also depends on the accent involved. Classic Who, with everyone speaking Received Pronunciation, was always easy for me to understand, but New Who can be a little dicey sometimes depending on a character's accent. Then there was the time I had to use subtitles to watch David Tennant in "Broadchurch." He was using some ultra-Scottish accent that I just could not understand, even though I have absolutely no trouble understanding his real Scottish accent. It drove me crazy!
Psst -- the correct idiom is "proud as punch," not "proud as a punch." You inspired me to go look up the phrase's origin, and apparently it's based on old Punch and Judy puppet shows, and being as proud as the puppet Punch. But I am so impressed that you know it!
In fact, congratulations on all your work and progress! You should definitely be very proud of yourself. I only hope to someday be half as fluent with French as you are with English.