The 5 French Sounds You Never Knew Existed
Many people think they speak French. That is, until they realize that French is made up of not just words, but sounds. These unmistakable (and unmistakably French) sounds will take you from “fluent” to “native French” in a heartbeat – as long as you master them to perfection. Below are the five most important French sounds you never […]
The best French lyrics | La cabane du pêcheur
Francis Cabrel was one of the first French musicians I loved. 15 years later, I still do. His music is as simple as it is intricate, as outwardly gentle as it is colossally forceful from within. He might make your mind spin without you knowing it. Only when you listen again will you understand why. […]
Found in translation | badaud, the bad flâneur
{badaud} noun m. | onlooker, bystander (informal, pejorative) gawker, rubbernecker À Noël, les badauds s’arrêtent devant les vitrines. At Christmastime, bystanders stop in front of the store windows. attirer les badauds to draw a crowd Pronunciation [bado] References: http://www.wordreference.com/fren/badaud http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/badaud_%C2%A0badaude/7375 ________________________ “There are in fact no masses, but only ways of seeing people as masses.” […]
The most beautiful word in the French language
{coquelicot} noun | poppy (flower) bright red (color) Rouge comme un coquelicot. To be as red as a beet (from shame, bashfulness, or confusion). Etymology | Variant of old French coquerico (“cock”), from similarity to a rooster’s crest. Pronunciation [kohk-li-koh] (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coquelicot) _______________________ Very simply, the French word coquelicot means “poppy” (the flower) or “poppy red” […]
The best non-French French word ever
{grosso modo} adverb | roughly, circa or approximately Dis-moi grosso modo ce que tu en penses. Give me a rough idea what you think of it. Actuellement, grosso modo, trois options se présentent à nous. At present, we have roughly three options. basically Grosso modo, ces participants ne considéraient pas ces dispositions comme très utiles. […]
French quotes | Ce qu’ils disent
“Le langage reproduit le monde, mais en le soumettant à son organisation propre.” (Language reproduces the world, but in doing so organizes the world like language.) | Émile BENVENISTE, Problèmes de linguistique générale This quote intrigues me to the core. Émile Benveniste (May 1902 – October 1976), a French structural linguist and semiotician (someone who […]
mind your monde 