Archive by Author
Le Prix Goncourt des Lycéens Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 13, 2017
Last week, you read about the famous French literary prize Le Prix Goncourt and its winner for 2017: Eric Vuillard for L’Ordre du jour. But that’s not the only Prix Goncourt that was recently awarded. In fact, there’s another, prestigious Goncourt prize, whose finalists were just revealed today. Le Prix Goncourt des Lycéens is often…
Le Prix Goncourt 2017 Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 6, 2017
Some of you may already have heard of le prix Goncourt—the most important literary award bestowed to authors writing in French. This prestigious literary award was created in 1892, in the will of author Edmund de Goncourt. Since then, the award has been given in the beginning of November of every year, making it the…
The World Series…in French? Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 30, 2017
Believe it or not, baseball actually has a long history sur le sol français (on French soil). The first game played in France, occurred on March 8, 1889. Le premier championnat (the first tournament) took place during World War I. Today, baseball is known as a primarily American sport in France and is not given much media…
Paris vs. Marseilles (Read in French) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 24, 2017
In the post below, you will find a paragraph in French about the rivalry between Paris Saint Germain and the Olympique de Marseille, two soccer clubs. Read in French first and try to pick out words that are familiar to you. Then, try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words based on the context of…
5 French Translations of Movies and Books (That You Would Never Guess!) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 16, 2017
It can be quite fun to look for English language movies and books that have been translated into French to see how their titles have changed in translation. Often, these translations show us quite a bit about the culture in question—and, perhaps, how marketing executives target releases to different audiences. Many times, you would never…
The Fables of Jean de La Fontaine Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 9, 2017
You’ve probably heard of Aesop’s fables before, but have you heard of La Fountain’s? These fables are famous to many French schoolchildren and are still enjoyed to this day. La Fontaine’s fables (given the title Les Fables choisies, mises en vers par M. de La Fontaine; “The Chosen Fables, Put Into Verse by Mr. de La…
Jacquetta de Luxembourg Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Oct 2, 2017
Recently, I’ve been enjoying the historical novels of Phillipa Gregory. While she might be best known for her series on the Tudors, Gregory has also written a series on the Wars of the Roses. The Wars of the Roses were fought in the fifteenth century between two rival branches in the Plantagenet family: the House…