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Me Talk Pretty One Day Sedaris

Decent Essays

Learning a foreign language can be quite a difficult task, which is why it is important to have a comfortable learning environment, as well a good teacher who can encourage and help you to keep you motivated in your studies. In his essay “Me Talk Pretty One Day”, David Sedaris seems to be lacking both in his quest to become fluent in the French language.

Before leaving New York to go to France, Sedaris took a month long French course as to not be a total beginner when attending class in France. On the first day, Sedaris is quite nervous, as he does not feel very confident in his French, especially not when observing the other students, who despite their nationalities spoke in what to him seemed like perfect French. Furthermore, he knows that he is expected to perform, because “That’s the way they do it here – it’s everybody into the language pool, sink or swim” (p. …show more content…

This is shown by the broad use of everyday terms like ‘’She’d been shaken up a little’’, ‘’an easy ten-minute walk’’, etc. Additionally, Sedaris is also writing in a very personal style, using his own personal experiences to bond with the reader to make the story seem more authentic. Besides speaking in a rather casual matter, Sedaris’ tone is also affected by the use of humour and imagery, which is seen throughout the essay. For example, “[…] they were all young, attractive, and well dressed, causing me to feel not unlike Pa Kettle trapped backstage after a fashion show” (p. 1 l. 12) and “had front teeth the size of tombstones.” (p. 1 l. 33). Sedaris also makes use of irony, creating a distance from the text, by using nonsense words when he does not understand what the teacher says, for example, “If you have not meimslsxp or lgpdmurct by this time, then you should not be in this room. Has everyone apzkiubjxow? (p. 1 l. 21). This contributes to the humoristic and casual tone of the

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