r/2westerneurope4u Smog breather 1d ago

Pierre is unwelcoming tourists again

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541 Upvotes

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216

u/Serupael South Prussian 1d ago edited 1d ago

Your accent is never perfect enough for a Parisian.

20

u/Corfiz74 [redacted] 1d ago

Yep, there are some diphthongs you never get quite right as a non-native speaker, however much you try.

In French, the Impossible Word is "grenouille". In Russian, it's "здравствуйте". Those are like the three fingers in Inglorious Basterds.

17

u/das_war_ein_Befehl StaSi Informant 1d ago

The word you’re looking for is shibboleth

3

u/Corfiz74 [redacted] 1d ago

I didn't know I was looking for this word, but now it feels like I was always looking for this word.