Archive by Author
Reform to French Labor Laws? Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Feb 22, 2016
This week, Myriam El Khomri, France’s labor ministry, has been the focus of many headlines in France. This week, she presented a bill that would reform current French labor laws, which is seen by many as the final push for large-scale reforms during President François Hollande’s five-year term. The law would allow employees to work more…
The French Judiciary Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Feb 15, 2016
The American judiciary has been in the news a lot lately due to the passing of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia. The Supreme Court, as most people know, is the highest federal court in the United States and acts as the final interpreter of all federal constitutional law. In France, the court that interprets constitutional…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Le Monde: “David Bowie, l’extraterrestre” Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 12, 2016
Aujourd’hui, le monde s’est reveillé avec la triste nouvelle du décès de David Bowie. Le musicien anglais n’était pas juste un star dans le monde anglophone. Il a été très admiré en France aussi. En fait, aujourd’hui, Le Monde a publié un long article en hommage à Bowie, que l’auteur appelle “un artiste caméléon.” Selon…