Do British people and French people get along?

France and Britain have officially been on good terms since the Entente cordiale was signed in 1904. But theirs is that special kind of relationship that comes about after what normally just feels like but is in their case literally centuries of discord, peppered with lengthy, brutal breakups and diplomatic makeups.

Do Brits know French?

French is the most commonly spoken foreign language in the UK – used by 15 per cent of people – followed by just over one-in-20 who can understand German. But almost every other major language such as Mandarin, Arabic and Japanese is alien to the vast majority of English speakers in Britain.

What percentage of British speak French?

23\% of the UK population can speak/understand French, 9\% can speak/understand German and 8\% can speak/understand Spanish. 38\% of UK citizens report that they can speak (well enough to have a conversation) at least one language other than their mother tongue, 18\% at least two languages and 6\% at least three languages.

How do British people say France?

I think “France” much is pronounced much as the French do in many parts of England. Americans use the short-A sound instead. The British also tend to say “lieutenant” as “leftenant”, while Americans say “lootenant”, which is closer to the French version.

Why do British people pronounce French words wrong?

A lot of loanwords from French are pretty old, and the British pronunciation often reflects the pronunciation at the time of borrowing. Valet and Filet both came into English at the time of Middle French, when the final -t’s were pronounced.

Why does French not pronounce?

The biggest reason for unpronounced letters is that, at one time, the letters were pronounced. Spelling tends to reflect the language as it was spoken when the language was standardized, rather than how it’s pronounced today.