Hello Sean,
 
SD>WD> Google Translate ... we call this "Soldier's french".
 
SD> Full disclosure: I'm learning French as part of my job duties.  The
SD> company I work for is based out of Quebec and nearly all of them speak
SD> French as their native tongue.
 
Not really, I'm fluent in french and when I'm in Quebec I have difficulty
understanding TV for example.
 
They speak 'Quebecois' which is probably derived from the old french in the
1600-es and started to lead its own life. With a proper knowledge of french you
can get by, but it's not the real thing.
 
I also found that english takes me where I want to go in Quebec, but I think
your brand new baby-faced ZC may disagree ...
 
The thing is that the french language is monitored by the 'Academie Francaise'
which guards the language and keeps it uniform. As a result you can still read
the works of Moliere for example as they were written back in time.
 
Try that with the english of Shakespeare's time and you're doomed.
 
 \%/@rd

--- D'Bridge 3.99 SR33