Archive for January, 2016
What Does This House in San Francisco Have to do with the French? Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jan 28, 2016
Exactly one year ago today, I hopped on a plane to go visit a friend in San Francisco. I’d originally only planned to stay for 5 weeks, mais je suis tombé amoureux de la ville (but I fell in love with the city), and I never left. Whoops. I was excited about what it had…
Absolutely Formidable – French Music Posted by John Bauer on Jan 27, 2016
Sromae makes some of the most popular French music. Le chanteur belge (the Belgian singer) has many tubes (hits) that have already been featured on this blog, including Alors on danse, Papaoutai and Carmen. One of his biggest tubes of the last few years was Formidable. You could not walk around France in 2013 without…
Les nouveaux mots pour 2016 devoilés Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 26, 2016
Every year, new words are added to dictionaries around the world. Normally, these words are added due to new technological advances or cultural phenomena that describe what life is like in this new year. In France, it’s not only verbs, adjectives, nouns, and adverbs that are added…but also proper names. This is an honor that…
The Best French Music of 2015! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jan 21, 2016
If you’ve spent any time in France, you know very well that much of the music you hear will be in English – and it’s non censuré (uncensored), mind you. It’s also no secret that the French are proud of their language, and this is one of the reasons the government began imposing a law…
Buses and Cars – Travelling in France Posted by John Bauer on Jan 20, 2016
Europe is famous for how easy it is to travel en train. However, les trains are often more expensive than you would think! Thankfully there are alternatives like le covoiturage (carpooling), and l’autocar (intercity bus). Until recently it was difficult to take un bus over a long distance in France. However, private transportation companies have…
C’est quoi un calembour? Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 18, 2016
What is a calembour? Calembour is the French word for “pun.” Puns are jokes that rely on the double meaning of words or the use of homophones and, thus, they are very dependent on a deep knowledge of a language and linguistic culture. In French, the definition is “un jeu de mot fondé sur la polysémie ou…
Names for French Dogs Born in 2016 Must Start with the Letter… Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jan 14, 2016
Naming a dog can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a very serious decision. Your choice is important as votre toutou (your doggy) will have to carry this name the rest of his life. C’est pour cette raison que (it’s for this reason [that]) you need to choose wisely: don’t pick a name…