Using slang when we speak another language than our native one
In France, parents try to teach their children a "correct" French. For example, they correct their children when they say "Ouais" instead of "Oui". They correct them when they say "Hein ?" or "Quoi " instead of "Pardon ?".
When I hear french learners overusing "ouais" to seem cool, it looks weird for me. It doesn't sound natural when a non native speaker use (too much) slang.
I think, it is important to know slang in a foreign language because you will hear it and you have to understand it but I don't think that using it is good.
Is it the same thing in other languages ? For example in English, if an English learner always says "yep" instead of "yes", do you think it is weird ?
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Using slang when we speak another language than our native one
In France, parents try to teach their children a "correct" French. For example, they correct their children when they say "Ouais" instead of "Oui". They correct them when they say "Hein ?" or "Quoi " instead of "Pardon ?".When I hear French learners overusing "ouais" to seem cool, it looks sounds weird for to me. It doesn't sound natural when a non native speaker uses (too much) slang.
I think, it is important to know slang in a foreign language because you will hear it and you have to understand it but I don't think that using it is good.
Is it the same thing in other languages ? For example in English, if an English learner always says "yep" instead of "yes", do you think it is weird ?
Hi Chloe,
Nice job on your writing!
To answer your question, I think it's natural to imitate what you hear people around you saying, but I agree it's a good idea to be careful about using too much slang in a foreign language because it might be considered rude. I personally don't mind when English learners use informal words like "yep" or "wanna" (in speech, not writing), but sometimes people use the rude words they hear in American movies without realizing that most polite people don't speak that way.
Good luck with your studies :)
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"Yes" is fairly formal. Most native speakers (at least in the United States) say it some other way most of the time, more likely "ya," than "yep" unless they are in some kind of formal situation or trying to be especially clear. Non-native speakers say "yes" all the time. It's one way to tell a non-native speaker!
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It is not necessarily just to seem cool. If I hear "ouais" too many times, I'll start using it myself. It's a natural process of learning a language, by imitating others and repeating what you hear. I've lived in a French speaking area and I've only heard some "correct" French phrases at a French course. If you hear one thing at a course only, and everyone uses something else when they speak, which one will you go for? I think it would be weirder to stick to what the teacher says and try to speak better French then actual French people.
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