Archive for August, 2009
French Cuisine – Fromage Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 31, 2009
A few things happened to me when I lived in France that made me begin to understand one of the major points of French culture – le fromage! First of all, as a student who had to go out and get her own groceries for lunch, one of my first excursions was to a supermarket…
French Verbs – The Present Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 24, 2009
Let’s talk a little grammar! First of all, French verb phrases can be indicatif which expresses an event as being certain whether it occurs in the past, present or future. They can be in le subjonctif which is used in a subordinate clause to express an assessment or interpretation or it can be used after some…
Currencies in French Speaking Countries Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 18, 2009
Now is not necessarily the time for Americans to visit France as the dollar is not at all strong against the Euro at the moment and; therefore, Americans have less spending power there than some years ago. The Euro, also referred to as la monnaie unique in French, was put into circulation back in January…
French Wedding Traditions Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 15, 2009
I was doing a wedding menu (menu mariage) translation today and I came across the word pièce montée, otherwise known as croquembouche. I have to say that I hadn’t specifically remembered this dessert from the French wedding I attended back in the summer of 2003, but it is all sort of a blur now anyway. …
Street French III – Worrying Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 12, 2009
I’m a worrywart (une bileuse). Tout m’inquiète. (Everything worries me.) I worry about things. (Je m’inquiète pour qqch.) I worry about people. (Je m’inquiète pour qqn.) Even when there’s nothing to really worry about. (Il n’y a pas lieu de s’inquiéter.) Je me fais du souci pour mon mari, mes filles, ma maman, mon père…en…
Francoscopie – Understanding the French Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 6, 2009
Do you want to know what the French people are really like, but either can’t travel to France or can’t find any real French people to come to know? Or are you French and want to know more about your own society? Well, maybe the analyses undertaken and published by the study and advisory bureau…
French Grammar – Depuis Posted by Transparent Language on Aug 3, 2009
Today a little grammar. Here are some sentences you might hear if you are talking to French people: Vous êtes en France depuis quand? (How long have you been in France?) Vous habitez Paris depuis combien de temps? (How long have you been living in Paris?) J’habite à Paris depuis quinze ans. (I’ve been living…