French
Among other relaxed pronunciations, tu as (you have) is frequently elided to t'as in colloquial French or tu es (you are) to t'es. The same with je suis (I am) to j'suis or ch'uis (very informal, or regional), and je (ne) sais pas (I don't know) to j'sais pas or ch'ais pas (very informal, or regional). Moreover, most of the negative forms ne or n' are lost in non-formal discussion. The expression, "Qu'est-ce que..." is little used in colloquial speech for forming the interrogative, but when it is, in very informal use, it is shortened:
"Qu'est-ce que tu veux ?" becomes... "Qu'est-c'tu veux ?"
"Qu'est-ce que tu as dit?" becomes... "Qu'est-c't'as dit?"
Read more about this topic: Relaxed Pronunciation
Famous quotes containing the word french:
“You don’t want a general houseworker, do you? Or a traveling companion, quiet, refined, speaks fluent French entirely in the present tense? Or an assistant billiard-maker? Or a private librarian? Or a lady car-washer? Because if you do, I should appreciate your giving me a trial at the job. Any minute now, I am going to become one of the Great Unemployed. I am about to leave literature flat on its face. I don’t want to review books any more. It cuts in too much on my reading.”
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967)
“‘Are ye right there, Michael? are ye right?
Do you think that we’ll be there before the night?
Ye’ve been so long in startin’,
That ye couldn’t say for sartin’—
Still ye might now, Michael, so ye might!’”
—William Percy French (1854–1920)
“Well, love is insanity. The ancient Greeks knew that. It is the taking over of a rational and lucid mind by delusion and self-destruction. You lose yourself, you have no power over yourself, you can’t even think straight.”
—Marilyn French (b. 1929)