"May I please speak English?"

[Steven Brecher]

In preparation for another trip from my U.S. home to Paris after a gap of several years, I want to make sure that I have one key question correct: "May I speak English?" Background: six years of 7th-12th grade French classes 50 years ago. What is the best way to politely ask the question of a Parisian who likely but not certainly speaks English?

translate.google.com seems fickle:

May I speak English? -> Puis-je parler anglais?

and

May I please speak English? -> Puis-je s'il vous plaît parler anglais?

but

Please, may I speak English? -> S'il vous plaît, pourrais-je parler anglais?

Thanks!

[George Hunt]

In an uncertain or awkward  situation I  would personally prefer to use "est-ce que".

So  I would say "Est-ce que je peux parler anglais?"

Of your 3 alternatives I like the last the best and  ,in the second I am not sure if the "s'il vous plaît" doesn't sit more comfortably at the end of the sentence.

[Vedas]

All alternatives are good. George is right, today the most natural way to ask would be "Est ce que...."

but it would sound more logical to say: "Est ce que vous parlez anglais ?" / Parlez vous anglais?/ Peut-on

parler anglais? to be assured that there  really will be a communication...

[Steven Brecher]

Thanks George and Vedas for the replies!

Although I might be able to  handle alternatives which depend on context, I will be traveling with someone for whom this will the first time in France and who has no French at all. So based on your advice I think that I will teach her to say, ""Est-ce que je peux parler anglais?"

Edit: translate.google.com yields "Do I speak English?" for the candidate question. Is that really a correct translation? Wouldn't "Can" or "May" be better?

[George Hunt]

I see what you mean.

"Est-ce que je peux parler anglais?"  could  , I think be translated  in certain obscure contexts as "Do I speak English?"  but  I would understand it to mean  "May I speak English?" (I don't think you would say "pouvoir parler anglais" for "to be able to speak English" - it would be "savoir parler anglais" or "parler anglais" )

You could ,in English understand "Do I speak English?"  to mean  either "Am I an English speaker ?" or "Shall I speak English now ?" ( using "do" to indicate an  immediate future action if you follow my interpretation) .

 

So yes I think  translate.google.com has let you down in this case.I have always used it as a first stepping stone to a correct understanding of the meaning in the second language.I have noticed it has improved a lot over the past years although I don't know how they have achieved that.

But this seems  to me to be quite a bad mistake on translate.google.com's part.

 

Also what about "Parlez- vous anglais?"  ,"Vous parlez anglais?"or "Nous parlons anglais?"  ?

You know that you can just frame your question as a statement provided  that your body language  or the inflexion indicates that it is really a question?

 

I think you said expect your Parisian friend probably has good English. Unless things have changed since I was there I might not expect all strangers (ie other people  you might meet in the street , say) to be particularly receptive or polite in responding to questions about whether they speak English - they were quite likely to ignore you as I seem to remember unless your French was quite good.

 

Perhaps things have changed for the better in the intervening years....

 

[Steven Brecher]

Quoting out of order... "Unless things have changed since I was there I might not expect all strangers (ie other people  you might meet in the street , say) to be particularly receptive or polite in responding to questions about whether they speak English". Just so; and that is why I am looking for something more polite,  humble, and deferential than ""Parlez- vous anglais?"  ,"Vous parlez anglais?"or "Nous parlons anglais?" I am hopeful that "Est-ce que je peux parler anglais?" will be more suitable.

[George Hunt]

Oh I see.

I misunderstood and thought the phrase was required mainly for the initial meeting between  you , your girlfiend and an old Parisian acquaintance from down the years.

Ok .as I said perhaps levels of politeness have increased over the years but if not  I agree  you will need to be deferential .

There are several tactics that suggest themselves.Smile of course but not so as it will seem forced -so you will need to be in a good mood in the first place.

2: Don't jump on people  who seem to be in a hurry (my own partner is extremely good at making conversations in English with people in the street and she will scan people for  appropriate niceness before making an approach -she has never been rebuffed!) 

3: Be prepared to be rebuffed or ignored  by some as I think it is to be expected.

4: Why not add "monsieur" or "mme" at the end or even offer a handshake?

5 : You can also apologise -"le  francais est difficile pour moi /nous"

 

Good luck .As I say I may be too pessimistic.The main thing I  would say is to avoid any rude contacts  and then  an agreeable contact will fill  the vacuum.

[Chantal Savignat]

I always answer to people, especially in english ;-) 

simply say :

"hello, excusez moi"

and "parlez vous anglais ?" ou "est ce que vous parlez anglais ?"

with a smile, and be confident ...

but as George said, be prepared to be rebuffed, because english is not a french speciality. (It's not with 2 hours per week of English lessons in school that we are able to speak a fluent english ...)

I promise, if I'll find you lost in a street in Paris, I will help you :-)

[George Hunt]

Hi Chantal

Can I give you another English "lesson" ( they have become very infrequent) ?

Your phrase "It's not with 2 hours per week of English lessons in school that we are able to speak a fluent english"is perfectly understandable and correct and perhaps used  but  (and this is not a bad thing at all)  I think it does reveal that the speaker is a French speaker ( no bad thing as I said) .

So it isn't a "normal"  way of phrasing the point you are making  ( a bit unidiomatic  I think is the phrase ) and  I can imagine that you might hear something more along the lines  of the following..

"2 hours per week of English lessons in school are not enough to teach students to  speak  fluent english " (note: no need for  the  "a" really  ).

 

 "Ce n'est pas avec..." is I seem to remember a common  way of expressing an idea in French but it hasn't really taken off in English, I don't think.

[Chantal Savignat]

Thank you George,  it's a pleasure of course.

Yes "ce n'est pas avec ..." and all sentences with  "c'est ...." are  a common way of expressing ideas.  I understand the "normal" way,  it's the next level :-)