The French Language and IT

You'll notice a few differnece when you use your first computer in France. The keys are not in the same position. Most of the keys are the same but a few essentials have been relocated. Keys such as 'a', 'q' and 'm' are in different places so just be vigilant when typing up as you could type some serious unreadable jargon!! Also the numbers along the top of the keyboard type their second symbol first - i.e. if the number six has a bracket it will type bracket when you hit it, you must hit it and the control button to activate the 6 symbol. Its just the reverse of the English keyboard really.

You're going to have to write up a few projects at some stage so its worth having your own laptop with you for ease of use and familiarity. I suggest you download the open office software at www.openoffice.org as its similiar to Microsft Word but has a built in French dictionary for spell checking!! (be sure to download when you've selected France/French otherwise you'll get the English version.) When you are typing on an English keyboard, you can get the grave over the vowels á,é,í,ó,ú by hitting the alt key at the same time as the letter you're typing. The ^ can be a little trickier but you can use the 'insert symbol' from the drop down menu in Word and select the letter with the circumflex over it.

Whatever words you don't understand on the french computers is no big problem, if your a habitual computer user at home you will move your mouse to the correct option automatically in most cases. Habit takes over and you'll instinctively choose the right option. Here are a few essential words for the first time Anglo-Frence computer user:

imprimer - to print
supprimer - to delete
copier - to copy
coller - to paste
fermer - to close
ouvrir - to open
demarrage - to start up/reboot


If you buy a mobile phone in France it can be a little confusing as they come in French as the default setting. **When buying a mobile, please ensure you have your passport with you as they will not accept any other form od ID** To change the language settings to English select MENU - PARAMETRES - LANGUES - ANGLAIS/ENGLISH. If you wish to leave your French settings in place thats fine, just note that predictive texting will be in French also(this can be useful when tryin to remember how to spell a word 'en Francaise'!). Received texts are another area of confusion as messages are typed phonetically, just like at home. Suddenly 'j'attends' become 'jattons' etc and it can be very confusing if your French is weak like mine. Just speak the text out loud, its far easier to grasp whats being said that way. Follow this link to a short list of common text abbreviations used in France:

Texting

Hope this helps...