Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Twice As Nice With Two Sixes – Leap Years In French Posted by John Bauer on Mar 9, 2016
If you are chanceux (lucky), or maybe malchanceux (unlucky), last week was the first time in quatre ans (four years) that you were able to celebrate your anniversaire (birthday). Tous les quatres ans (every four years) there is a leap year, but it wasn’t until last week that I realized I did not know how…
Learning Through Music – “Rien qu’une fois” by Keen’V Posted by Josh Dougherty on Mar 3, 2016
Elizabeth, John, and I have all written about the benefits of music as a language learning resource. They’re a great source of current vocabulary, expressions, and even pronunciation. The fact that they’re catchy only makes it easier for you to remember words you may otherwise not learn in class or even in most conversations. Regardless…
Can You Carry a Tune? – French Slang Posted by John Bauer on Feb 17, 2016
After living in France for several years I still learn new words and phrases every day. Whether it’s figuring out how to buy un tournevis (a screwdriver) or making mistakes, there’s a lesson to be learned. The same week I wrote about l’argent (money) I attended a meeting where I heard un nouveau mot (a…
An Onion without an I – The French Spelling Reform Posted by Josh Dougherty on Feb 4, 2016
Anyone who has heard French can tell you it’s a beautiful language. Anyone who has written French can tell you it’s freaking difficult at times. Yes, those lovely sounds are accompanied by a complicated spelling system filled with silent endings, stem-changing verbs, hyphenation, elision, and doubled letters – and, of course, there are exceptions to…
Do You Feel Like A Million Bucks? – Money and Slang Posted by John Bauer on Feb 3, 2016
There are countless words and expressions that people use every day without realizing how they do not make much sense. L’argot (slang) is an important part of every language, but one that is unfortunately hard to find in many textbooks. Figuring out how exactly to say one million can be hard enough before trying to…
What Does This House in San Francisco Have to do with the French? Posted by Josh Dougherty on Jan 28, 2016
Exactly one year ago today, I hopped on a plane to go visit a friend in San Francisco. I’d originally only planned to stay for 5 weeks, mais je suis tombé amoureux de la ville (but I fell in love with the city), and I never left. Whoops. I was excited about what it had…
Les nouveaux mots pour 2016 devoilés Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jan 26, 2016
Every year, new words are added to dictionaries around the world. Normally, these words are added due to new technological advances or cultural phenomena that describe what life is like in this new year. In France, it’s not only verbs, adjectives, nouns, and adverbs that are added…but also proper names. This is an honor that…