#also please keep in mind i'm a native from france

[some-siren]

What’s puzzling to me is why people say Aziraphale’s French is bad, like-

No it’s not. It’s quite good even. Sure he has a thick (no really) accent but that’s about it. Everything he says to Justine is something you can hear in the streets, and it’s correct too-

Az: Euuh.. Bonjour Justine ! Euh, pardonnez-moi ! Euh, mais euhm... [Uuh.. Hello Justine! Uh, excuse me (formal)! Uh, but uum...] J: Mister Fell, I speak fluent English. I’ve been living here for fifteen years.

Az: Excellent. Excellent !.. Uuh, well erm. Bien (alt. Viens) ! Maintenant, j’ai une réunion de l’association de tout les (alt. des) commerçants de la rue, dont (alt. dans) mon magasin de livres — des! — des livres. Uh, je serais honoré si vous pouviez venir. Il y aura des vol-au-vents. [Excellent. Excellent !.. Uuh, well erm. Good(alt. Come!)¹! Now², I have a reunion of the association of all the (alt. of the)³ merchants of the street, of which (alt. in)⁴ my store of books — of the! — of the books.⁵ Uh, I would be honoured if you could come. There will be vol-au-vents.] J: Mister Fell, if it’s about the street traders meeting, I can be there, but only until seven, as we start to get really busy then. Az: Oh, merci bien ! Uuh, il est à six heures trente. [Oh, thank good!⁶ Uuh, it⁷ is at six hours thirty.⁸] J: Yes, six-thirty. See you there. Az: (incomprehensible) Au revoir! [(incomprehensible)⁹ Goodbye!]

¹ "Viens" (Come!) instead of "Bien" (Good, well) would be weird in this situation for a couple of reasons: firstly "Viens" is the informal form of the imperative for "venir" (to come), the form one would use with people one is close to — like friends or family —, which is in contradiction with the formal way he first addresses Justine. Secondly, while it could — emphasis on could — be "Viens" on a purely phonological basis (when I say his accent is thick I mean it), it isn't correct in this context, same as English.

² "Now, " is perfectly correct in English, but it is weird in French. "Maintenant" will most of the time mean "right now" in French, and it is no exception here. Therefore what Aziraphale says is grammatically incorrect, because it would suppose the object of the sentence (the association meeting) is either currently happening or is just about to start. Although don't get me wrong, it's a very minor mistake; the sentence is still entirely comprehensible.

³ "des" (of the; plural) is what I hear instead of "les" (the; plural). If he is indeed saying the former, then it is a grammatical error, because it would be like he is saying "a reunion of all of the traders". "tout" (all) expects a direct object after it (all what?) and "des", here, is an indefinite article, a bit like "some" in English, and induces an indirect object. On the other hand if he is saying "les", then the sentence is correct because it is an (definite) article introducing a direct object. It's slightly confusing to hear, but that's about it.

⁴ I am almost certain he is saying "dans" (in, inside of) but because of his (BLOODY THICK) accent it sounds like "dont" (which, in/of which). If he says "dont" his sentence is missing an indirect object. "Dont" is a relative pronoun (here referring to the subject, aka the association reunion) which induces a new proposition, so like a new part of the sentence, that here is dependent of the first proposition. Basically it needs a verb but it doesn't have one. Which is to say his sentence if he used "dont" should have been "dont mon magasin de livres fait partie" (which my bookshop is a part of). On the other hand, if he said "dans", his sentence is correct.

⁵ "of books — of the! — of the books", just as bad in French as it sounds in English. Aziraphale was right when he said "de" and wrong when he corrected to "des". I could not if my life depended on it explain why it's wrong but it is. Made me wince.

⁶ "Oh, thank good" sounds weird in English but it's quite a common (although slightly fancy and old-fashioned) figure of speech in French. It doesn't have a real equivalent in English and most of the time will be translated to "thank you very much" or "thanks a lot"

⁷ "il" (he, it; masculine, can take on a neutral gender) is referring to the reunion, which is feminine in French. Wrong gender, mate

⁸ "six hours thirty", is a perfectly correct and normal construction. We say "hours" in French, it's usually translated to "o'clock" in English.

⁹ An utterly incomprehensible pile of sound vaguely resembling "(au) revoir", only understandable thanks to context.

Ok I know it's not very flattering but like. This angel speaks great French, especially for someone who learnt the hard way. Like suuuuure her accent is terrible, but in that weirdly endearing way British people speak French (also I have heard WAY WORSE), so really we're giving her a hard time for no real reason