Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Hollande Vs. Sarkozy: Get in the Ring! Posted by Hichem on May 2, 2012
Only three more days to go before we know the name of the leader of France for the next five years. The close interest paid to this year’s French Presidential Elections, pitting François Hollande vs. Nicolas Sarkozy, seems to go beyond the borders of l’Hexagone (as France is nicknamed, after its hexagonal shape.) Nearly 18 millions of French people were…
Joyeuse Fête du Premier Mai! Posted by Hichem on May 1, 2012
Joyeuse fête du premier mai à vous tous ! Of course, you all know that today is la fête du travail (the International Workers’ Day), a celebration which takes place nearly everywhere in the world… But did you know that the First of May is also the special date of another celebration in France? Réfléchissez un petit peu (think for a little bit)… No?…
French in Canada Posted by Sean Young on Apr 25, 2012
Canadian French refers to the language as spoken in Canada and is the mother tongue of nearly seven million Canadians (roughly 22% of the national population). The dialects of French spoken in Canada are Quebec, Acadian, Métis, Newfoundland and Brayon dialects. You will also find Canadian French spoken in parts of New England in the…
Colloquial French – Part 02 Posted by Adir on Apr 17, 2012
Last week we had our first post of the Colloquial French series and by the comments I see that you guys liked it, so today is the second part. Profitez! Dis-le! = Spit it out! C’est cassé! Ça ne marche pas! = It’s broken! (computer) Tout a bien fini! = It all worked out…
Colloquial French – Part 01 Posted by Adir on Apr 13, 2012
I’m Adir Ferreira, your new French blogger. I have been working with Transparent Language for 4 years on the Spanish, Portuguese and English for Brazilians blog. I hope to have a great time giving you some really cool tips to improve your French. Now, let’s start off with a series called Colloquial French. They’re sentences…
French is French…ou pas? Posted by Sean Young on Apr 12, 2012
If you’re somewhat familiar with the French language, you know that The French-speaking world is called la francophonie, and people who speak French are des francophones. So, everywhere you go in la francophonie, you can speak French and have a good time, right? Well, it’s true in a sense. If you’re familiar with the differences…
Poisson d’Avril (April Fools’): Would You Like Fries with That? Posted by Hichem on Apr 1, 2012
It’s no big secret: Despite the persistent legends surrounding them, the so-called “French fries” are almost as “French” as the “French onions“, the “French toast“, and even the “French Kiss“: In other words, they are not! But whether or not you uphold their fairly established Belgian origin, and consider les “frites” as a “faux French” dish, for…