While I was in France, and since I’ve returned to the U.S., I’ve received many inquiries about how much French I learned or how I well I understood things, etc. I’ve tried many ways to assess how much I learned.
One thing that I noticed while I was in France was that I could understand all the words used in signs. Now admittedly, usually you can understand the meaning of signs without much understanding of the language. For example, the signs showing a closed road and a detour could be understood with no knowledge of French.
And you can probably figure out that a sign with a picture of a dog and small plastic bags is for those walking their dogs. During the time I was in France, however, I actually learned the actual words used. So, for example, the dog sign actually says, “Sacks are distributed for your use. Together, preserve our living space.”
Of course, just because you understand all the words, doesn’t mean you understand. I am still perplexed by the sign on the below. The words mean “all directions.” But of course, you can’t really go all directions by going one way. I saw these signs in more than one place and usually you could actually go more than one direction where the sign stood.
One of my professors commented on how funny it was that people approached this sign and would all turn the way it pointed. Isn’t that what you should expect where a sign says “all directions” and points one way.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t ask for more clarification at that time so I still don’t know what this signs means. The good news is that my lack of understanding is not due to my failure to understand French. Now that is progress.
