Yesterday afternoon I came across a comical video on Facebook promoting Canadian songs in horribly broken french. “FrancoCon: Your Favourite Songs in French” is brought to you by Calgarian broadcasters Beckler and Seanna of X92.9 radio. The video is reminiscent of the kind of advertisements you’d see on TV promoting an album, though admittedly not serious in the slightest. The 4:20 video boasts Canadian music royalty such as Bryan Adams, The Tragically Hip, and Rush, to name a few while also highlighting Canadian up and comers such as Arkells, July Talk, and Mother Mother, who are fixtures on the Alternative station’s airwaves. The video sees as song titles come and go with iconic Canadian symbols such as parliament hill, ice rinks, and the Rockies in the background.
Self dubbed as “an embarrassing display of bilingual failure” I couldn’t help but reminisce back on my seven years of experience with French immersion while I watched it. Despite having left the French Immersion program in Grade 7, I can only hope the French skills I’ve retained aren’t half as bad as the laughable language displayed in this video. I’ll note that I say this all in good fun. If this video serves anything other than pure, unadulterated entertainment, let it serve as a reminder that google translate is not a replacement for language classes.
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