parler français comme une vache espagnole

The French expression “parler français comme une vache espagnole” translates literally to “to speak French like a Spanish cow”. This expression doesn’t necessarily have to apply to French.

English meaning:

  • to butcher the French language
  • to speak horribly

French meaning:

  • parler avec un fort accent étranger – to speak with a strong foreign accent
  • parler très mal une langue – to speak a language very poorly

Example sentence:

  • Ton accent est affreux ! Tu parles français comme une vache espagnole ! Your accent is horrible! You butcher the French language!
  • J’étudie le chinois depuis plus que cinq ans mais je parle comme une vache espagnole ! I’ve been studying Chinese for over five years but I speak horribly.

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