Archive for September, 2016
Never Ever be Confused by This French Word Again! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Sep 15, 2016
Bonjour, tout le monde ! As a French student, you already know that the language is beautiful, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a little tricky. When you learn a second language, you start to notice a few things about your native tongue that you may have never considered before. Why is our grammar…
Blank Page Anxiety – Writer’s Block In French Posted by John Bauer on Sep 14, 2016
L’angoisse de la page blanche, the anxiety of the blank page, the French way to say writer’s block. The direct translation paints a pretty picture, but how much is lost in translation? While writing mon mémoire, I had to deal with l’angoisse de la page blanche all the time. I would write as long as…
Les Adjectifs Démostratifs (Demonstrative Adjectives) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 13, 2016
What are demonstrative adjectives, you may ask? While the term may sound scary, we use them all of the time. Demonstrative adjectives are adjectives that “demonstrate” or point out a particular noun. In English, these include this, that, these, and those. In French, there are only four adjectifs démonstratifs: ce, cet, cette, and ces. As with most adjectives in French, they must agree…
Une semaine bien française* Posted by Tim Hildreth on Sep 13, 2016
Given my love for France and all things French, it’s not unusual for my weeks to be filled with a variety of French things. But this week I had the added bonus of being surprised in delightful ways by more French than usual. Ma semaine surprise a commencé mardi (My week of surprises started Tuesday)…
Learn French Pronunciation with Beyoncé, Britney, and Adele! Posted by Josh Dougherty on Sep 8, 2016
No, no, the title of this article isn’t just a bunch of click bait. All of these stars have sung in French, and today we’re going to look at their pronunciation errors to correct yours! See, French can be fun 😉 It’s not uncommon for singers to release songs in a foreign language. While English music…
Do You Know How To Write Like A Native? Posted by John Bauer on Sep 7, 2016
Knowing the words for punctuation is hard, but the problems don’t end there. You also have to learn all the small differences in how they are used in French. After that, talking about l’écriture (writing) itself is a new challenge. All those years in k-12 education learning about grammar may not be useful when you…
Innovations in Public Transportation: The Navya Arma Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Sep 6, 2016
The French are known for their innovations in public transportation, particularly the TGV (train à grande vitesse), which set the record for the fasted wheeled train in the world. More recently, France’s capital city has adopted driverless trams on two of its metro lines. Now, the French are again experimenting with driverless public transportation. This…