one person, or or more than one person?
2007-01-20 05:55:42 · 5 answers · asked by ♥ 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
it is a command directed to the second personal singular..in an informal way..in french ,there is one pronoum for second person singular,and one for plural
tu...second person singular informal
vous...second person singular formal
vous...second person plural
2007-01-20 06:05:00 · answer #1 · answered by pdrfer 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure that it shouldn't be "parles francais" with the "s" on the end in order to make it 2nd person singular. (tu)
Without the "s" it's the "on" form which can be "one" ( As of "one should always wash one's hands" - ie: "wash your hands") or "we" (on parle francais - we speak french) - In either of these cases it must just be a general command I guess...
"Parlez francais" would be for "vous" and would either be to one person you were showing deference to (be that your grandmother, your teacher when you're young, someone you're speaking to over the phone but don't know...like when you ring customer services)...
or "vous" to a group of people. Or it would also be the form if it were a notice (in a French classroom for example.)
2007-01-20 14:13:54 · answer #2 · answered by splat 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
One person. But you'd better make sure that the person in question is one whom you can address in the familiar form (classroom contemporary, member of family, child, etc.)! For a total stranger "parlez français" might be safer!
2007-01-20 17:26:46 · answer #3 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it is directed toward multiple people it would be "Parlez francais"
2007-01-20 14:05:58 · answer #4 · answered by melissa 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
IMO it can be directed at anyone who understands it - whether that be one or many.
IF they dont understand it - they wont do anything except stand there with a stupid look on their face.
2007-01-20 13:59:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋