Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Traveling this Summer? French Conjugaison Wishes You a *Bon Voyage*! Posted by Hichem on Aug 15, 2011
Whether you’re packing your bagages (luggage) to spend your vacances d’été (Summer holidays) in France or somewhere else, The French Blog tips you on how to conjugate the French verb VOYAGER (to Travel), and, by the same token, wishes you a BON VOYAGE ! The nominal form of the verb voyager is voyage—as in the famous chanson “Voyage, voyage“! French CONJUGAISON…
Madame Édith Piaf and “Notre-Dame de Paris” Posted by Hichem on Aug 10, 2011
Madame Édith Piaf chante (sings)… * “NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS“: Dans le Paris de Notre-Dame In the Paris of Notre-Dame De Notre-Dame de Paris, Of Notre-Dame de Paris Y a un clochard qu’en a plein le dos There’s a bum who’s fed up De porter Notre-Dame sur son dos Of carrying Notre-Dame on his back Il se prend pour Quasimodo He thinks he’s…
The “French Connection” Linking Victor Hugo, Verdi, Batman, and the Film “Se7en” Posted by Hichem on Aug 9, 2011
Today, Opera composer Giuseppe Verdi is widely celebrated as one of the major figures of what Italians proudly call “il Risorgimento“, the movement which, exactly 150 years ago, gave birth to l’unification de l’Italie (the Italian unification.) Many people, however, still ignore, even in today’s Italy, that their beloved maestro italiano was in fact born a Frenchman! The reason being that, when Verdi was born…
How to Ask for Street Directions in French Posted by Hichem on Aug 8, 2011
Unless you’re planning on constantly using a GPS to find your way in a French-speaking country, you will have aucun autre choix (no other choice) but to learn how to ask people for directions in French—and, equally as important, be able to understand them! You can randomly choose un passant (a passerby), preferably one who doesn’t…
“Qui ne saute pas n’est pas Marseillais!” (Whoever Doesn’t Jump is Not from Marseille!) Posted by Hichem on Aug 5, 2011
If you travel all the way to Paris, and not even scream, but just *whisper* in the streets: “Allez l’OM” (OM = Olympique de Marseille), chances are, the crowds of people will start getting the impression that you are, as the French like to say, en train de chercher la petite bête (picking for a fight)! It’s…
Victor Hugo’s Joker: “L’Homme qui rit” Posted by Hichem on Aug 4, 2011
Only a select few of people, even amongst the most passionate die-hard superhero comics fans and “connaisseurs“, seem to be aware that Batman‘s tragicomic arch-nemesis, the Joker, finds his original inspiration in a literary work—a work by the same author of les Misérables, Victor Hugo, of all people! Dans un roman (in a novel) published in 1869…
Hidden Gems of Today’s French Poetry in Music: “Paroles de l’âme” (Lyrics of the Soul) Posted by Hichem on Aug 3, 2011
Sometimes, if you’re chanceux (fortunate) enough when you’re surfing la toile mondiale (the World Wide Web), you run into some remarkably fine French contenu (content)… The sort of “perle” (gem) that you are happy to show around after you stumbled into it, to friends or relatives who hold an interest in la culture française (French culture), and whom you know…