April 13, 2004

Chtimi (a.k.a. Chti'mi, Chti, and Patois)...
The North of France (Lille area) wasn't always part of France. In fact, it used to be part of the Spanish Netherlands.
They have a peculiar accent up here, even when they aren't speaking in full-on Chtimi. It took me a while to get used to the accent, and I think that I've picked some of it up. Unfortunately for me, people in the rest of France laugh and mock the accent up here in the North.
The new parking meters, the ones where you can select the language, now give you the choice of French, English, Dutch, and Ch'ti.
A few examples of Chtimi to get you started:
Kmint qu'i va? = Comment ça va? = How are you?
Cha va = Ca va = It's going well
J'em lonme... = Je m'appelle... = I'm called...
Mi, ej su = Moi, je suis = Me, I am
J'ene sai pon = Je ne sais pas = I don't know
San vos kmander = S'il vous plait = Please

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