Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Bonjour Rosetta Stone

My niece Nancy frequently reports on the ridiculously funny but normal conversations she often has with her three year old son. Today I had a similar conversation with my 86 year old mother!

Mom: So what did you do so far today?

Me: Well, I worked this morning on my Rosetta Stone French.

Mom: Oh, that was on Jeopardy today.

Me: I imagine the Rosetta stone they were referring to was the famous giant carved Egyptian stone.

Mom: Were the carvings in French?

Me: No, the real Rosetta stone helped archeologists figure out the meanings of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Do you remember Ken telling of touching the Rosetta Stone when he was in London?

Mom: So, are you going to London?

Me: No, I'm studying French so that I can be semi-literate when we go to Paris. Rosetta Stone is a computer program that helps me learn French.

Mom: So are you learning French from a book?

Me: No, I'm using the computer. Rosetta Stone is the name that a company gave to its programs for learning foreign languages.

Mom: And you're learning French from this company?

......Later I mentioned stopping at Barnes and Nobel to pick up a French phrase book.

Mom: So how can you look up things in the French phrase book if you don't know French?

Me: It's alphabetical. So if I'm in a restaurant and want to make sure I'm not ordering brains or kidneys for dinner, I can look up the word and it will tell me what it is in English.

Mom was 100% rational. I think I was rational. Our English language is not!

Au Revoir - Need to spend more time with that Egyptian London based Rosetta Stone book or program that is used to learn French!

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