Version Française

Usually, I do have a thing against dubbed movies and TV series. That’s mostly because I can tell that German dubs of American and English movies and series are just that: dubs. And why would I watch a dub, if I can watch the original? Since I have moved to Paris, however, I have rediscovered dubs. Or as the French call it: “version française”.

This is probably also the case because it is very easy to find cinemas that show movies in their original version – which is probably mostly due to Paris being a big capital city. However, since I have struggled with finding OVs in Germany before, it’s nice to know that I will actually be able to watch a movie, for example Woody Allen’s excellent “Blue Jasmine”, without having to range wide and far.

            Outside of cinemas, however, I have started watching TV in French. This is in part due to my discovery that France 4 shows episodes of Doctor Who every evening (my inner nerd made a summersault). While it is decidedly weird to watch Matt Smith’s incarnation of the Doctor talk French, it is also a fun way of practicing my French skills. Well, at least my listening and comprehension skills. Thus, last week I was doubly happy to discover that France 4 was broadcasting The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (and for those of you wondering about the French title it’s “Le Seigneur des Anneaux: La Communauté de l’Anneau”). One: there is no such thing as watching The Lord of the Ring too often. Two: language learning, d’uh.
            However, this rediscovery of dubbed movies and series (and the French translations of my favorite books) has also led me to another, slightly paradoxical realization. Watching a movie or reading a book in a new language is almost as good as watching or reading it for the first time. It’s magical. I still remember reading The Lord of the Rings in English for the first time, and how insanely happy it made me. For days on end, I would tell everyone who wanted to hear (and everyone who didn’t), how awesome the English original was.

At the other hand, however, it is nothing like the first time, especially with re-watched and re-read favorites. When I read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in French over the summer, I could sometimes hear the German sentences in my head (I honestly have lost count how often I have read that book). With The Lord of the Rings movie, it would be both the English and German versions of the dialogue. Does this mark me as an obsessive fan? Well, obviously. But what it also does is giving me an interesting perspective on French and on the way sentences work and concepts are expressed in French. It also proves how important engagement with a language apart from doing grammar exercises and rote-learning vocabulary is. And how much fun that can be.

            My plan for the Christmas holidays is to read The Lord of the Rings in French. Some might call that over the top. I call it dedicated.