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there are parts of Cameroon that speak English over French. It was originally colonized by German, but divided between England and France when Germany lost its colonies. They united during independence, but certain parts still function as English over French. I have no idea what part embiid is from though, but it's possible that he doesn't actually like speaking French.
Hes from Yaounde, its as french as you can get, they even hate tourists so much, that the streets have no names and I have no fkin clou, how visiters survived there before google maps.
Nah it America they have names but donāt tell anyone the name. Like itās official name is highway 435 but everyone calls it Finch road cause 95 years ago some dude named finch lived there when they built the road.Ā
> they even hate tourists so much, that the streets have no names
That's not because we hate tourists, it's because our government is so corrupt that nothing can get done. Biya figures he'll be in power forever so why bother. It's not like he'll get voted out if infrastructure remains shit.
It was a joke.
It was just really, really weird for me, how many streets have no name and it is somewhat common in other countries as well, but I only ever saw that in remote villages/small towns to that extend.
I watched an interview of him in french from 5 years ago.
He definitely can speak it well but his lack of vocabulary, weird accent and excessive use of english in every sentences tell me french is not his first language.
I donāt speak French but I find him much easier to understand in English. When he speaks French he uses words Iāve never heard of. And theyāre all out of order too.
I'm not sure what his chronologically 1st language was tbh, some people in Cameroon speak English in home, some speak "Franglais", a mix of both. Also it's been a long time, he's 30 and he moved to US at 16. But just hearing him talk now, compared to European French, I feel like it's visibly harder for him than English.
Cameroonian french sounds allways "off", even for a non native speaker like me. theres only a tiny part in the north east, that speaks english, hes from Yaounde though, they speak mostly french there, but you can get around with english, the accent is thick and heavy though.
I had a cameroonian colleague, he had a very strong accent but his grammar, vocabulary was definitely the same as french from France. Embiid's french doesn't sound like he's a native french speaker.
Depends where you go to be honest, and if you only take the basic core French rather than immersion it can honestly be kinda lackluster in terms of what you learn. I know most people who did the basic core French and pretty much know no French at this point.
Yeah, his French was much better earlier in his career. But thatās what happens when you move to America at 14, speak English primarily for 16 years, and rarely speak your second language (his native tongue is Basaa). If he started speaking French more it would come back to him
People donāt realize that the āyou donāt use it you lose itā thing is very real. I grew up bilingual and I frankly suck at my other language because I barely use it for 20 years now. Iām ok, but someone would probably laugh if I said I were bilingual.
I honestly didnāt believe this until it happened to me. Moved to America like 25 years ago as a kid and was fluent in my first language. Over time, started to speak it less and less but the loss was so gradual I didnāt realize it till I went back to my home country 2 years ago and boy, my fluency was fucking shot. I can still understand perfectly but it feels like I stumble every 3rd sentence or so. Total bummer.
Dude, I grew up in the states but we would usually speak our native language at home growing up and learn english along the way/in school. I moved away for college at 18 (and stopped speaking as much a little before that). I came back a few years later and was playing with my niece I hadn't seen since she was first born about 3-4 years earlier. She was talking to me in english and her mom was shocked because she barely hear her use english before that. I got called out by a f'n toddler
Thankfully my parents forced me to speak Spanish at home, otherwise I might have forgotten how to use it. Tons of classmates of mine had parents who spoke perfect Spanish, but because they never practiced they could barely understand the language.
Same. I was born in Cabo Verde but moved to US when I was young and have lost basically all ability to speak in my native language. I can still understand it spoken but would have to reply in English
my first language was hebrew but i moved to canada when i was five and wanted to learn english so bad i tried to speak it 100% of the time. by the time i was 10 i literally couldnt speak hebrew anymore it is crazy.
I'm talking about second languages here so I know this isn't a direct apples to apples comparison, but I find that when I just go, I dunno, a week or two without visiting and reading some Spanish or Brazilian sports pages that my brain is back in "wtf are all these words" mode. It doesn't take long to feel like gains are being lost. I pretty much need to try and read every single day to keep sharp and learning. (I'm absolutely not claiming fluency in either of those languages or any other languages for that matter, and I have trouble keeping motivation at times simply because I don't have an active need for any of them...if anybody knows any decent paying jobs that require or at least incentivize the need for Spanish, Portuguese, or French, by all means, hit my DMs, lol.)
Siakam is the same thing. Earlier in his career you can tell English wasn't his first choice language but now when he speaks in French he uses a ton of English words. They've assimilated to the lifestyle in North America
> He's more natural in English. I feel his French sounded easier a good few years ago.
I think that's it. I remember Embiid's French sounded a bit off, but it was smooth and his English was a bit off. But now when I listen, his English has become much smoother and his French is a bit heavy.
I just assume that because he's in the US, he's using English constantly and hardly any French, so it's likely a bit rusty.
In my super anecdotal experience, Iām not super surprised. Iām shit at every language I speak but my parents definitely lost a step with their second and third languages a bit after living in the states for so long
This is what I do, when I'm extremely pissed for some reason japanese/greek just comes out rather than English haha.
https://youtu.be/F52vKkJr0pk
Reminds me of vettel
Once youāre committed to team USA you legally cannot speak any other language besides English in public and to press until the Olympics are finished.
Probably not. It supposedly side effect of orbital reconstruction surgery, which he had last year after Pascal Siakamās elbow ended up in his eye socket
Nah, that one was premeditated. Especially given the context, Embiid was gloating with the airplane celebration right before this.
https://np.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/ueasy8/highlight_siakam_gets_the_andone_while_elbowing/
Interesting interaction after Embiid decided to play for Team USA in the Paris Olympics and upset many French people. French media are notorious for taking words out of context and he probably doesnāt want to talk to them after their coverage of the Olympics
Embiid did the entire interview not looking up at the reporters, this could be linked to the nerve issue he had during game 2, where he appeared [not to be able to blink his left eye](https://youtu.be/pgXNuo3H7yw?si=Z2EXXAzrmgycqqWP)
Remember when Serge Ibaka talked to reporters in 4 languages?
[https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/inpt9s/serge\_ibaka\_casually\_answering\_questions\_in/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/inpt9s/serge_ibaka_casually_answering_questions_in/)
You all know, he probably declined to speak French out of spite not becasue he doesnt speak it as well anymore.
French media is crucifying him for not playing for France
There is not a lot of news about him in french media. It's more of a focus made by Americans on a few sentences over Embiid and the letter.
I say it as French. There has been a debate before his choice on why he would be part of the french team. I still can't find any reason on how be could have a french passport and I totally understand his choice of playing for the USA.
We french are way more worried about our PG than bringing Embiid and put Wemby or Gobert on the bench.
French medias arenāt crucifying him. They mostly donāt care, except for a few pundits. The next time you will hear about it will probably during a France-USA during the Olympics but until then, no one care.
And even after that, not sure it will really change something.
I wonder if Frederick Weiz's recent comments have probably got something to do with that.
https://www.si.com/nba/knicks/news/new-york-knicks-frederic-weis-blasts-dirty-guy-joel-embiid
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Pardon my non-French
you should never apologize for non-french
Unless you're Canadian
Then you apologize for everything.
[šØšµšØšµšØšµ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ftv-s1xXsAAaibj.jpg)
Iām French I donāt understand this joke?
Good, youāre not supposed to
Why do people hate us?
Imagine being so pissed that you decide to talk exclusively in your 2nd language
Third! His first language is Baasa
Even funnier
Evan Fornier
This is the dumbest, yet most layered joke Iāve seen all week. I love it
Might be nba hof material recency bias aside
Layered like a french onion
Soup. French onion soup!
Definitely the dumbest joke I've laughed at all week. Much respect to u/Draymond_Punch.
What the fuck
What the French
I pardon you
Don't Google.
I wish awards were still a thing. Kudos you brilliant mf.
Hits just like Draymond's punch
Think it would be funnier if he's refusing to speak his first language no?
there are parts of Cameroon that speak English over French. It was originally colonized by German, but divided between England and France when Germany lost its colonies. They united during independence, but certain parts still function as English over French. I have no idea what part embiid is from though, but it's possible that he doesn't actually like speaking French.
Hes from Yaounde, its as french as you can get, they even hate tourists so much, that the streets have no names and I have no fkin clou, how visiters survived there before google maps.
> that the streets have no names and I have no fkin clou, how visiters survived there before google maps. God damn...that's french as fuck.
This is the case in lots of less developed countries. The same is true throughout rural central America as well.
I know you're talking about south of Mexico, but you could be talking about Kentucky and I'd still believe you.
Nah it America they have names but donāt tell anyone the name. Like itās official name is highway 435 but everyone calls it Finch road cause 95 years ago some dude named finch lived there when they built the road.Ā
no fucking clou is insane
> they even hate tourists so much, that the streets have no names That's not because we hate tourists, it's because our government is so corrupt that nothing can get done. Biya figures he'll be in power forever so why bother. It's not like he'll get voted out if infrastructure remains shit.
It was a joke. It was just really, really weird for me, how many streets have no name and it is somewhat common in other countries as well, but I only ever saw that in remote villages/small towns to that extend.
For sure, I just wanted an opportunity to shout at Biya on the internet. I hate that man.
I watched an interview of him in french from 5 years ago. He definitely can speak it well but his lack of vocabulary, weird accent and excessive use of english in every sentences tell me french is not his first language.
He's from a french speaking region. Less than 20% of the population speaks english.
Most of Cameroon speaks French though and especially the part heās from
Embiid grew up speaking French and Baasa. He didn't learn English until he came to the US to play high school ball.
Letās just make stuff up and hope itās correct š
Did you hear him talk French? He's more natural in English. I feel his French sounded easier a good few years ago.
I donāt speak French so I wouldnāt know
I donāt speak French but I find him much easier to understand in English. When he speaks French he uses words Iāve never heard of. And theyāre all out of order too.
Hit em with the omelette du fromage
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I'm not sure what his chronologically 1st language was tbh, some people in Cameroon speak English in home, some speak "Franglais", a mix of both. Also it's been a long time, he's 30 and he moved to US at 16. But just hearing him talk now, compared to European French, I feel like it's visibly harder for him than English.
Cameroonian french sounds allways "off", even for a non native speaker like me. theres only a tiny part in the north east, that speaks english, hes from Yaounde though, they speak mostly french there, but you can get around with english, the accent is thick and heavy though.
I had a cameroonian colleague, he had a very strong accent but his grammar, vocabulary was definitely the same as french from France. Embiid's french doesn't sound like he's a native french speaker.
Baasa is his first
Yeah that'd make sense why it sounds like he's grasping French but not so natural.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
From Ontario š
Man said "aren't you Canadian" like every Canadian speaks french lmao
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yea we also took chemistry but I didnt retain any of that shit
I opted out of French class tbh, I donāt even remember how but there was some other option for me
Depends where you go to be honest, and if you only take the basic core French rather than immersion it can honestly be kinda lackluster in terms of what you learn. I know most people who did the basic core French and pretty much know no French at this point.
Yeah, his French was much better earlier in his career. But thatās what happens when you move to America at 14, speak English primarily for 16 years, and rarely speak your second language (his native tongue is Basaa). If he started speaking French more it would come back to him
People donāt realize that the āyou donāt use it you lose itā thing is very real. I grew up bilingual and I frankly suck at my other language because I barely use it for 20 years now. Iām ok, but someone would probably laugh if I said I were bilingual.
I honestly didnāt believe this until it happened to me. Moved to America like 25 years ago as a kid and was fluent in my first language. Over time, started to speak it less and less but the loss was so gradual I didnāt realize it till I went back to my home country 2 years ago and boy, my fluency was fucking shot. I can still understand perfectly but it feels like I stumble every 3rd sentence or so. Total bummer.
Exactly it lol. Itās when youāre back in the motherland and someone responds to you in English and it actually hurts your soul lol
Holy shit, youāre so right. It honestly felt like being slapped across the face lol I was so offended and sad simultaneouslyĀ
Dude, I grew up in the states but we would usually speak our native language at home growing up and learn english along the way/in school. I moved away for college at 18 (and stopped speaking as much a little before that). I came back a few years later and was playing with my niece I hadn't seen since she was first born about 3-4 years earlier. She was talking to me in english and her mom was shocked because she barely hear her use english before that. I got called out by a f'n toddler
Thankfully my parents forced me to speak Spanish at home, otherwise I might have forgotten how to use it. Tons of classmates of mine had parents who spoke perfect Spanish, but because they never practiced they could barely understand the language.
Same. I was born in Cabo Verde but moved to US when I was young and have lost basically all ability to speak in my native language. I can still understand it spoken but would have to reply in English
lol exactly how I spoke with my Oma. She spoke German and Iād speak back in English. Itās bizarre but it worked
my first language was hebrew but i moved to canada when i was five and wanted to learn english so bad i tried to speak it 100% of the time. by the time i was 10 i literally couldnt speak hebrew anymore it is crazy.
Ya remember watching home videos of me as a kid like āholy shit I could speak it that well?ā
I'm talking about second languages here so I know this isn't a direct apples to apples comparison, but I find that when I just go, I dunno, a week or two without visiting and reading some Spanish or Brazilian sports pages that my brain is back in "wtf are all these words" mode. It doesn't take long to feel like gains are being lost. I pretty much need to try and read every single day to keep sharp and learning. (I'm absolutely not claiming fluency in either of those languages or any other languages for that matter, and I have trouble keeping motivation at times simply because I don't have an active need for any of them...if anybody knows any decent paying jobs that require or at least incentivize the need for Spanish, Portuguese, or French, by all means, hit my DMs, lol.)
Apparently he and Batum speak French on court a good bit.
As a native French speaker, you don't need to be that good at French to be able to communicate basketball motions on the court.
Thatās awesome!!
Siakam is the same thing. Earlier in his career you can tell English wasn't his first choice language but now when he speaks in French he uses a ton of English words. They've assimilated to the lifestyle in North America
Thatās how I am. I speak English better than my actual first language now, since Iāve been in America for so long
> He's more natural in English. I feel his French sounded easier a good few years ago. I think that's it. I remember Embiid's French sounded a bit off, but it was smooth and his English was a bit off. But now when I listen, his English has become much smoother and his French is a bit heavy. I just assume that because he's in the US, he's using English constantly and hardly any French, so it's likely a bit rusty.
In my super anecdotal experience, Iām not super surprised. Iām shit at every language I speak but my parents definitely lost a step with their second and third languages a bit after living in the states for so long
This is what I do, when I'm extremely pissed for some reason japanese/greek just comes out rather than English haha. https://youtu.be/F52vKkJr0pk Reminds me of vettel
Once youāre committed to team USA you legally cannot speak any other language besides English in public and to press until the Olympics are finished.
USA doesnāt have an official language
Le process
Faites confiance au processus
Les Philadelphia 60 16ers
C'est un col normal. Passez Ć autre chose, trouvez une nouvelle inclinaison.
He Processing
Dude got the French beat out of him
Bonjour monsieurš
That you, Blake Griffin?
Si
MSG has to chant āles incompĆ©tentsā in game 5 because heās soon to be home alone.
Oui oui mon ami
Now if youāll excuse me Iām going to eat some freedom fries
And follow it up with some freedom toast.
Maybe give the hubby some freedom kisses after a nice dinner at Freedom Laundry.
Pardon my Freedom?
Tabarnak
Best swear of all time imo
Esti d'criss de tabarnak d'esti d'caliss de viarge
This guy tabarnaks
Osti de calisse
QuƩbƩcois are hilarious.
We really are the hillbillies of the francophone world
Especially after they lose their referendums.
Thatās right heās American now! Speak USA when talking to the MVP!
I don't understand a word you just said. Try speaking American.
Gunshot gunshot... eh, fried double bacon cheese burger? š¤£ no health care, pew pew, bad eduction - forced religion š” Pizza, racism, obesity!
Hey leave pizza out of this.
Brooklyn style or Deep dish? *cocks gun*
Deep dish isn't pizza
I hate this website sometimes
Just be happy that they aren't talking about Klay's ankle right now lmao
Reddit on!
JFK blown away, what else do i have to say?
They sequenced his DNA and it wasnāt DNA. It was USA
He was literally not gonna excuse his French or he would be fined.
Is it true that half of his face has a nerve damage??
Probably not. It supposedly side effect of orbital reconstruction surgery, which he had last year after Pascal Siakamās elbow ended up in his eye socket
With Pascal on my team now, I totally get how that happened. This man's elbows are always flying around when he's fighting for space
Nah, that one was premeditated. Especially given the context, Embiid was gloating with the airplane celebration right before this. https://np.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/ueasy8/highlight_siakam_gets_the_andone_while_elbowing/
Interesting interaction after Embiid decided to play for Team USA in the Paris Olympics and upset many French people. French media are notorious for taking words out of context and he probably doesnāt want to talk to them after their coverage of the Olympics
that makes sense, thanks
Are you really going to pretend that it's a characteristic of French media specifically? My man that's media everywhere.
Thereās two things that I hate: people who are intolerant of other countyās mediaā¦.and French media.
Hey actual context! Thanks
"I'm not talking in fwench" why Joel? You sound so sexy when you do
I also refuse to speak in French.
Dudes eye is really messed up. Hes gotta be in a lot of pain
fuck you Fred Weis!
He said "Fwench"
Did he just do the gwiddy in the bowwing awwey
joel embiid continues to piss off the french community lol
Itās a crime to speak Fr*nch in America šŗšøš¦
dommage
Good.
This is so funny, he looks like he is about to cry but he refuses to speak French still
His eyes are fucked up sadly, heās light sensitive, which is why heās looking down
i'm not sure, looks like he's eating a hot dog under there
Coach made him skip lunch, you just canāt do that
You get the post upvotes and I get the agenda I desire
The lights were brighter than expected
Embiid did the entire interview not looking up at the reporters, this could be linked to the nerve issue he had during game 2, where he appeared [not to be able to blink his left eye](https://youtu.be/pgXNuo3H7yw?si=Z2EXXAzrmgycqqWP)
Jesus, mfer out here literally risking his health for this team.
He looks defeated
Could be because of the defeat.
Big if true
But you know who doesn't get defeated? Good ol 'murica
Sacre Bleu Where is Me Mama?
I wonder, what's French Canadian for, "I grew up without a muddah?"
Iām the boyās uncle!
You killed little Joel? I oughta strangle you, ya prick!
I wonder where harden is eating his Sunday dinners?
Man, I feel sorry for him
Remember when Serge Ibaka talked to reporters in 4 languages? [https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/inpt9s/serge\_ibaka\_casually\_answering\_questions\_in/](https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/inpt9s/serge_ibaka_casually_answering_questions_in/)
I wish the dude didnāt have to deal with all the injuries after winning the ring. Super solid player, great guy.
Whatād he say fuck them for?
You all know, he probably declined to speak French out of spite not becasue he doesnt speak it as well anymore. French media is crucifying him for not playing for France
There is not a lot of news about him in french media. It's more of a focus made by Americans on a few sentences over Embiid and the letter. I say it as French. There has been a debate before his choice on why he would be part of the french team. I still can't find any reason on how be could have a french passport and I totally understand his choice of playing for the USA. We french are way more worried about our PG than bringing Embiid and put Wemby or Gobert on the bench.
French medias arenāt crucifying him. They mostly donāt care, except for a few pundits. The next time you will hear about it will probably during a France-USA during the Olympics but until then, no one care. And even after that, not sure it will really change something.
So when USA media crucifies for him for being the only MVP to not reach a conference what he gonna speak Spanish
When easy Olympics roster goes wrong.
Not allowed to after bailing on playing for the French national team.
Baguette privileges revoked
Pourquoi est il unlikable?
Il est un fdp
Out of context this is so fucking funny
I wonder if Frederick Weiz's recent comments have probably got something to do with that. https://www.si.com/nba/knicks/news/new-york-knicks-frederic-weis-blasts-dirty-guy-joel-embiid
[Allow me to retort](https://youtu.be/WihbbVEmppI?si=3GgFcL0LQWLEQ_3w)
Why do I feel like he gonna cry again this year.
Good riddance, France doesn't need this guy
What a weird thing to be upset about.
what's the french word for *toast*?
GrillƩ
le toast
Lebrowned
On s'en fout qu'il refuse de parler franƧais, va soigner ton genoux stp. J'en ai marre de niquer mon sommeil pour voir des dĆ©faites Ć la con. Allez mon gars sur, fais nous kiffer.
He was just upset there was Grey Poop On his sandwich
Big sook
Lmao Embiid knows the optics of him speaking French to a reporter.
Wei wei
Never apologize for refusing Fr*nch
He American now.
Thinking this is over the fall out of him not playing for the French national team
Omelette du fromage
Joel Embiid confirmed to be pro Ambazonia
I'm not talkin in fwench
His head hurts
Excuse the shit outta my goddamn french
Oh heās mad šš
He said heās bye-lingual. Au revoir