Archive for February, 2016
Critics of the 2016 French Language Reforms Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Feb 8, 2016
As Josh detailed last week on the French spelling reform, the recent declaration by l’Académie française to implement spelling spelling changes that affect around 2,500 words was met with some resistance. Francophones (and Francophiles) have taken to twitter not only with the hashtag #JeSuisCirconflexe, but with examples of how the circumflex accent changes the meaning…
An Onion without an I – The French Spelling Reform Posted by Josh Dougherty on Feb 4, 2016
Anyone who has heard French can tell you it’s a beautiful language. Anyone who has written French can tell you it’s freaking difficult at times. Yes, those lovely sounds are accompanied by a complicated spelling system filled with silent endings, stem-changing verbs, hyphenation, elision, and doubled letters – and, of course, there are exceptions to…
Do You Feel Like A Million Bucks? – Money and Slang Posted by John Bauer on Feb 3, 2016
There are countless words and expressions that people use every day without realizing how they do not make much sense. L’argot (slang) is an important part of every language, but one that is unfortunately hard to find in many textbooks. Figuring out how exactly to say one million can be hard enough before trying to…
Gad Elmaleh…à New York! Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Feb 1, 2016
Mon mari a très hâte de voir son comédien préféré à New York, où il est en tournée jusqu’à juin. My husband is very excited to see his favorite comedian in New York, where he is performing until June. Gad Elmaleh is a star in French, where he is known not only as one of…