French accent in Beziers?

Question

Do they have their local French accent in Beziers?

Is it a good idea to take a French language course in Beziers?

Answer 1

1) Yes, Béziers DOES have an accent. Béziers is in the south of France, and we southerners are known for our distinct speaking style.

This is probably the HEAVIEST version of a Southern accent, spoken by people over 45. If you pay attention you'll notice that it sounds more like italian than stereotypical french. It USED to be stigmatised, but now it isnt (however you still wont get a job as a newscaster if you talk with this accent)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YcySIR4T...

Most people dont speak that heavily in a southern accent however. Southerners nowadays sound more like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itg-zK-lf...

2) The people of southern france (particularly Béziers) also speak their own language, Occitan. It's also a romance language like french, but its closer to spanish and italian. The Occitan language influenced the French accent of the region, which is why it sounds so different (and so much better haha)

3) EVERY region of France has a local accent. No matter what city you go to, Paris, Béziers, Toulouse, Marseille, Lyon, Rennes, the way the language is spoken varies widely. When you look for a language course you want to learn GRAMMAR. Standard French is about mainly grammar, not so much about regional pronunciation. There are southerners who speak perfect french, but they still retain their southern accent.

I personally say go for it. The Southern accent is sunny & charming, and it sounds beautiful. Béziers is an interesting town by the Mediterranean, and if you go during august you could catch the Feria de Béziers, where almost a million visitors come to celebrate the local culture.

Also, i recommend that you learn alittle about the Occitan language while in Béziers, its very interesting.

Answer 2

Yes on both counts. (Although I don't think that regional accents are quite as prevalent as they used to be generations ago. France, like the rest of the world, has gotten "smaller", figuratively speaking.)

Answer 3

All regions of France have their own 'local quirks' with language in France, and also local accents. I live in the Aude region and there is even a seperate language here that is a cross between French and Spanish. Bit like Forest od Dean/West Country/Black Country etc back in the UK

It is a good idea to take a French language course anywhere in France, you will be taught Parisien French (Like BBC english) but you will pick up the local accent after a while. No problems though, like with English people can still understand you everywhere the language is spoken.