Archive for April, 2015
The French Equivalent of Mixing Up “There”, “Their”, and “They’re” Posted by John Bauer on Apr 29, 2015
Un phénomène intéressant (an interesting phenomenon) when learning your native language is mixing up words that sound the same. Learning the rules can be tough and time consuming, and mistakes happen as often as misplacing une virgule (a comma). There are many homonymes that native French speakers often mix up or have trouble remembering when…
10 Nouveaux Mots Pour 2015 Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Apr 27, 2015
Every year, the editors of the French dictionnaires Le Petit Robert and Le Petit Larousse announce the new words that will be added to the next year’s edition. There are normally two rules the linguists employed by these dictionaries use in order to determine whether a new word should be incorporated: 1. the frequency of the…
Literary Classics with…Nabilla? Posted by Josh Dougherty on Apr 23, 2015
Sometimes you want nothing more than to curl up with a good book. With the internet, it’s easy to hop on to a site to find suggestions for new things to read. If not, you can choose to read one of the classics. Every language has their own canon of classics. Even if you haven’t…
French Punctuation: How Different Could It Be? Posted by John Bauer on Apr 22, 2015
Something as basic as how to use a period, a comma, and a colon doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d need to learn how to use en français. A period goes at the end of the sentence, a comma separates clauses or lists, and a colon introduces a title or a list or…
5 Faux Amis to Watch Out For Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Apr 20, 2015
Les faux amis, or false friends, are words or phrases that look the same or very similar in one language, but differ greatly in meaning. These are also known, more technically, as false cognates. Les faux amis can be tricky for many levels of French learners and are made even trickier by the fact that…
Hillary pour PrésidentE ?? Feminizing Job Titles in French Posted by Josh Dougherty on Apr 16, 2015
This post has no political agenda, but Hillary’s announcement got me thinking. You may have learned that certain job titles are always masculine in French, regardless of whether a woman holds the position. The example I always think of is le professeur (professor/teacher). Women certainly have a history in education instruction, so why is there…
Just Add Water – Le Pastis Posted by John Bauer on Apr 15, 2015
Au Sud de la France (In the South of France) there is a famous drink that isn’t wine. It often brings up thoughts of the Mediterranean sun for les Français. C’est le pastis! Un apéritif à base de réglisse parfumé à l’anis (an anise flavored licorice based apératif, or pre-dinner drink). The name pastis vient…