Archive for 'Vocabulary'
French Culture Retro Pubs 4 Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 30, 2019
This week we’ll rap up our exploration of classic ’80’s commercials with a look at a commercial for the lessive Gama (Gama laundry detergent). After our earlier discussion about shops and shopping in France, this pub (commercial) introduces us to some of the commerçants (shopkeepers, business people) who work in France. Français English Rue Gama Gama Street Y…
French Culture – Retro Pub 3 Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 23, 2019
This week, another commercial from the 80’s. I like commercials because they are short, often have lots of great vocabulary, and can often be like litte stories. This commercial from Volkswagen plays with our expectations with a series of retournements (reversals) and a surprising ending. Français English Il a misé un million sur le noir ……
French Culture – Retro Pubs 2 Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 16, 2019
This week we enjoy another vintage commercial from the 1980’s. This one features (amazingly) the chanteur français (French singer) Patrick Bruel (même un très jeune Patrick Bruel / and a very young Patric Bruel, at that). Français English Moi j’ai le plan pour les vacances* I’ve got the plan for vacation Je prends le train…
French Culture – Retro Pubs Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 9, 2019
When I lived in France in the 1980’s, I found popular culture, including commercials, to be a powerful way to connect with and to learn French. J’étais donc enchanté (I was therefore charmed) to stumble across this great YouTube clip (video) that features de biens bons (some great ones). Over the next few weeks, I’ll…
Bonne Fête Nationale ! – Happy Independence Day In French! Posted by John Bauer on Jul 4, 2019
Happy 4th of July to all les lecteurs américains (the American readers)! Here’s to a day off, barbecue, and fireworks! While today is the big national holiday for les États-Unis (the United States), nearly every country has an important fête (holiday) centered around their national identity in some way or another. Here en France le…
French Vocabulary – Internet Policies Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jul 2, 2019
Last week I shared a link to an article about the new gite (guest house) that my stepdaughter and husband opened at their nursery. If you happened to click through to see the details, then you might have encountered un message pop-up (a pop-up message) explaining the sites use of les cookies. When is a…
La Canicule Everywhere But La Bretagne – Heatwave In France Posted by John Bauer on Jun 28, 2019
Il fait chaud (it’s hot) in Paris. Sweating through my morning commute and dealing with the lack of air conditioning throughout the city has made this a rather difficult time. La canicule (the intense heat, heatwave) is incredibly famous in France. Every year once warm weather moves a few degrees too high, everyone starts to…