Archive for 'Culture'
Planes, Trains, and Carpooling in France Posted by John Bauer on Dec 2, 2015
Between all the subways, bus stops, train stations, and airports, it’s easy to get lost even if you’re not struggling in a foreign language. C’est-à-dire (that is to say) travelling while abroad can be difficult. All the different moyens de transport (modes of transport, means of travel) can be confusing. Est-ce qu’on devrait prendre le…
Aux armes, citoyens ! The History of the French National Anthem Posted by Josh Dougherty on Nov 19, 2015
Les hymnes nationaux (national anthems) are patriotic numbers used to tell the history, traditions, and struggles of a country and unite its citizens. Their styles vary per country – some versions are standard fanfares, some sway more toward operatic pieces, and others have difficult lyrics that are very easy to flub! As an American, I…
Education in France and Counting Backwards Posted by John Bauer on Nov 11, 2015
Je viens de revenir en France (I just came back to France), which means I’ve been dealing with le décalage horaire (the time difference). That also means all the confusion of living abroad in another language has come rushing back, bringing up interesting interactions. Having a conversation with un ami (a friend), I wanted to…
French Music: Indila Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Nov 9, 2015
Have you heard of a singer-songwriter named Indila? Indila is a French musician whose first album, Mini World, came out in 2014 to great acclaim. Indila is of Cambodian, Egyptian, and Algerian descent and uses musical influences from each of these cultures in her songs. In particular, she has stated that Algerian räi music has been a…
Learning through Music – Calogero’s “Pomme C” Posted by Josh Dougherty on Nov 6, 2015
Music is a fun and stress-free way of learning a foreign language. You expose yourself to new genres and voices. You learn new phrases, hear new accents, discover plays on words, and learn vocabulary that you’ll never forget. And it makes sense – you can still remember all the words to the music you listened…
My Ancestors and Their Degeneration Posted by John Bauer on Nov 4, 2015
I’m a big fan of les chansons françaises (French songs) or rather les chansons en français (songs in French). Whether they’re from la France, le Québec, or somewhere else in la francophonie, there’s a lot of musique en français that mixes modern styles with a folkier past. One groupe I like is, Mes Aïeux (My…
Back To Le Futur in Version Française Posted by John Bauer on Oct 28, 2015
Last week was le jour (the day) that Marty McFly went into the future, but with le voyage dans le temps (time-travel), being off by a week doesn’t matter too much. There’s still plenty of time to watch the movie in French! The title of the film is une traduction littérale (a literal translation): Retour…