Archive for 'Music'
Not Just Fat Ladies – Opera Terms in French Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jun 9, 2016
One of my favorite things about moving to San Francisco was the opportunity to speak French. I’d invested so much time learning it, and where I formerly lived, it was hard to find native French speakers to talk to. When I moved here, I found a large francophone community and was even able to obtain…
Que vas-tu faire? * Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 7, 2016
After last week’s example of the passé composé, I thought this week we’d take a look ahead . . . to the avenir (“the future”). There are two common ways of forming the future in French: the futur proche which like the passé composé is formed using an auxillary verb (recall that the passé composé…
Qu’est-ce que j’ai fait?* Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 31, 2016
In 1986, Sabine Paturel had a hit with the song “Les bêtises“. There is just a handful (une poignée) of verbs in French that use the verb être to form the past tense, but most verbs in the passé composé are formed using the verb avoir (to have). Les bêtises gives you lots of chances…
L’heure de la sortie / Quitting Time Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 17, 2016
Listening to one of my old favorites in the car the other day, I got to thinking about French expressions for time and in particular the difference between some very common expressions that, while not exactly confusing, can trip up the novice and experienced language learner alike. You see, the French have two words for…
Songs in French: Stephan Eicher Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on May 16, 2016
Stephan Eicher is a Swiss singer-songwriter who sings in many languages, including French, German, Italian, English, Swiss-German, and Romanche (a Romance language spoken in some areas of Switzerland). While his earliest success began in German-speaking countries, Eicher has become well known in French-speaking countries as well. Eicher debuted his career as a techno-punk artist, then gradually…
France’s 2016 Eurovision Submission! Posted by Josh Dougherty on May 12, 2016
It’s May, and for many Europeans, it’s the return of something very important. Non, je ne parle pas du soleil (no, I’m not talking about the sun), but Eurovision! Not familiar with it? Basically, every participating country submits a singer and song to represent them. From there, the songs are performed in 2 semi-finals and…
A singer captures mon cœur Posted by Tim Hildreth on May 10, 2016
Not every country is lucky enough to have a former model as their “first lady”, but France isn’t just any country! Carla Bruni Sarkozy, the wife of France’s former president, Nicolas Sarkozy (president from May 2007 – May 2012)* is not only a model, but also an accomplished singer. Italian by birth, Carla Bruni grew…