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Beginner French: Conjugating Avoir Posted by Jennie on Jul 27, 2010
Bonjour mes amis débutants! (Hello, my beginner friends!) Hichem and I have so much fun exploring French slang, literature and culture, that we sometimes forget that not everyone is ready for tout ça (all that). Starting ce soir (tonight), we’ll begin Beginner Posts, especially aimed at les débutants who are just starting to learn French…
Who Are Ze French? Posted by Jennie on Jul 16, 2010
L’identité française (A not-too-academic discussion) Pas d’excuses! Mercredi (Wednesday) was Bastille Day, which is sort of like Hichem’s birthday because he’s French, and hier (yesterday) was mon anniversaire (my birthday)! So we’re all out of whack. Désolée. While “French politicians a bunch of whiny Islamophobic babies” (lien) is probably not good journalism, it is…
Banning the Burqa: Une nouvelle loi française Posted by Jennie on Jul 14, 2010
Aujourd’hui, l’Assemblée nationale (Today, the National Assembly) a voté (voted for) l’interdiction du port du voile intégral. A law banning the full-face veil, or voile intégral, has already been passed in the lower house of le parlement belge (Belgian parliament). When we discussed that law in April (The Burqa Ban in Belgium, April 30), le…
A Guide to Le Tour de France! Posted by Jennie on Jul 7, 2010
Although le Mondial (the World Cup) is dominating the sports press—Pays-Bas jusqu’au bout! Netherlands all the way!—it’s not the only major sporting event going on now. Le Tour de France a commencé! The Tour de France started le 3 juillet, but the world has barely blinked. If you’re not a serious cycliste, it can be…
A Little Bit about Canada (in French) Posted by Jennie on Jul 2, 2010
Je ne l’attendais pas du tout—I didn’t expect it at all. Je vous ai proposé le Canada, le Madagascar et le Sénégal (I offered you Canada, Madagascar and Senegal) et vous avez massivement voté pour (and you overwhelmingly voted for)… Le Canada ! You’ve recognized la beauté du chapeau des États-Unis (je rigole je t’aime Canada !)…
La Fête de la musique! Posted by Jennie on Jun 22, 2010
As I write this, on fait la fête à Paris (they’re partying in Paris). Aujourd’hui, le 21 juin, c’est la Fête de la musique! (It’s the Festival of Music!) En 1981, Maurice Fleuret, appointed Director of Music and Dance (Directeur de la Musique et de la Danse), had a dream : « la musique partout et le…
Quiz: Masculine or feminine? Posted by Jennie on Jun 18, 2010
Le ou la? (Le or la ?) ___ poème ___ Mexique (too soon ? Désolée, les Bleus !) ___ Cambodge (Cambodia) ___ problème ___ programme ___ thème ___ lycée (secondary school, high school) ___ cimetière (cemetery) ___ musée (museum) ___ stade (stadium) Ready ? I’m betting (je parie) that a lot of you got 10 out of 10……