Archive for 'Language'
French Culture – Summer Music Posted by Tim Hildreth on Aug 11, 2020
August is traditionally vacation time in France et qui dit vacances d’été dit chanson d’été (and summer vacation means summer songs) ! This retro hit from the French group Niagara is the perfect way to embrace your beach love if you can’t get there in person. L’amour à la plage Niagara was part of the soundtrack of…
French Vocabulary – For the birds Posted by Tim Hildreth on Aug 4, 2020
This week’s post is brought to you in part by my trip this weekend to la plage (the beach). In these times of social distancing a trip to the beach seemed like a relatively safe bet what with all the fresh air, sun, and space. As I relaxed sur la sable (on the sand) I…
French Vocabulary – Town and Country Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 28, 2020
It’s easy to think, when you look at a bilingual dictionary, that there is a right word in French for every word in English. Sometimes though picking the right word in another language is complicated by nuances of meaning. Le Rat de la ville et le Rat des champs Ville (n.f; la ville) is one such…
French Language – Right is right Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 21, 2020
It’s not uncommon to forget or to mix up words when you first start learning a new language. I once asked for un orteil sans plume (a toe without feathers) when what I really wanted was un oreiller sans plume (a pillow without feathers)! These sorts of errors usually work themselves out with practice, but…
French Tongue Twisters Posted by Bridgette on Jul 3, 2020
Les virelangues, tongue twisters, are an excellent way to practice your language skills. They help with pronunciation, clear and quick speech, as well as your confidence. When practicing the following virelangues, remember they are even hard for French native speakers. Don’t feel dismayed, and keep practicing for fun! Je suis ce que je suis, et si…
French Culture – Comfort Food Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 30, 2020
While France (and parts of the US, where I live) are starting to open back up, we can all sometimes still use a little escapism to take us away from the challenges that life can present. Especially with all the complex issues facing the world today, I thought this week we’d spend some time on…
French Onomatopoeia Posted by Bridgette on Jun 19, 2020
Bonjour! Today I want to explore the linguistic phenomenon of onomatopoeia, which is the formation of a word from a sound associated with that word. It originates from the word ὀνοματοποιία in the Greek language which means ‘making or creating names’, and in English we use it to describe the unique words made to imitate sounds. In…