If you’ve ever thought that another language made no sense compared to your own, you are not alone. In fact, it is part of the natural process all language learners go through in coming to terms with the peculiarities they encounter in the target language.

However, looking at other languages through the lens of your own can cause you to project certain biases onto them. This is problematic because ‘normal’, at least as it applies to language, is only defined as such because of habit and familiarity. The unfamiliar will always seem strange, but that is not necessarily because of any inherent aberration.

In English, it is perfectly acceptable to say, ‘ask a question’. The corresponding phrase in French, demander une question, however, is not considered well-formed because of a perceived tautology. Ask already implies a question is going to follow. French logic says it is therefore repetitive and pointless to put question after ask. So, demander une question gets a big red cross through it. A large green tick appears next to poser une question, which is the well-formed and accepted rendering of to ask a question; no tautology to be seen there. By that logic English indulges a tautology where this phrase is concerned. Note that poser would still be translated as ‘ask’ in English, unless a specific nuance is being sought in which case ‘pose a question’ might be appropriate.

It is still possible to say demander quelque chose (ask something) in French, as quelque chose is not a question label in itself and thus does not invite any tautology:

Je lui ai demandé de sortir avec moi but not je lui ai demandé une question (rather, je lui ai posé une question).

So, the next time you’re tempted to say, ‘French doesn’t make any sense!’ think twice about that statement and your own language!