Archive for 'Culture'
French Culture – Canadian Style Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 9, 2019
While my taste in all things French tends to run to the France French, if you’ve read me before you know that I have family in Québec and I go there from time to time. I also like to keep up when I can with how the culture is evolving up there. This week I…
France and le Grand Paris Posted by Tim Hildreth on Mar 26, 2019
A few weeks ago as I was exploring the public opinion research from IFOP, one of the studies that caught my attention was an examination from last December of public perceptions of the ensemble d’initiatives connues sous le terme du Grand Paris (group of initiatives known as the Great / the Big Paris). Le Grand…
French Music – Spring is in the air Posted by Tim Hildreth on Mar 19, 2019
This year, here in the northern hemisphere, le mercredi 20 mars (Wednesday, March 20th), is le premier jour du printemps (the first day of spring)! What better time to share another fun French-language song, one that kicks off la nouvelle saison* (the new season) tout en joie (with joy). C’est l’printemps / It’s spring This…
Le Second Degré – Sarcasm In French Posted by John Bauer on Mar 13, 2019
L’humour (humor) is one of those things that goes beyond le vocabulaire (vocabulary) and steps into the realm of la culture, making it one of the hardest aspects of le français to really understand. Sometimes les blagues françaises (French jokes) are easy to understand or are simply a matter of understanding a specific reference. Once…
French Culture – What do the French think Posted by Tim Hildreth on Mar 12, 2019
As I was recently following up on news about les Gilets jaunes I stumbled across a great resource for anyone interested in understanding what les français pensent (the French think) on any number of different topics. Qu’en pensez vous? / What do you think? There’s no better way to know what someone is thinking then…
French Language – Learning New Words Posted by Tim Hildreth on Mar 5, 2019
As I read, listen to the latest news from France, and explore new music, I like to jot down ideas for blog posts. Sometimes (like last week) those items come together in a cohesive story. Sometimes, like this week, they’re a real méli-mélo. Méli-mélo Méli-mélo is a great little expression that means a mish-mash, a mixed bag…
Take A Voyage To The 80s – French Retro Music Posted by John Bauer on Feb 27, 2019
Having a wide variety of music en français to chose from is important for any French learner. Not only does it get you prepared for any impromptu karaoke nights with les Français (French people), but it also makes it easier to find une chanson (a song) that you genuinely enjoy and want to listen to…