I’ve heard it said that if you don’t encounter a language before a certain age, there are sounds in that language that will not only be difficult (if not impossible) for you to pronounce properly, but even hard for you to hear! I say it’s never too late as long as you apply yourself. This week, I thought we’d take a break from the holidays¹ and the strikes, which sadly have lasted now almost two weeks, continuing to cause chaos across France and look at three French words that will help hone your listening and speaking skills.

La Pomme

J’aime bien les pommes. J’essaie d’en manger une tous les jours. (I really like apples. I try to eat one every day.)

La Paume

When I was un élève à l’école (a student in school) studying French history, I never quite got what apples had to do with the French Revolution. And then I realized that the famous serment du jeu de paume (Tennis court oath) was referring to a sport and not a fruit²You see the thing is, the average American seems to pronounce all three words – pomme, paume, and palme – exactly the same. Le jeu de paume is indeed a tennis-like sport played indoors, and originally with the paume de la main (palm of the hand), hence the name!

La Palme

The most famous palme is perhaps la Palme d’or (The Golden Palm) awarded each year to the top film at the Cannes Film Festival which some years is quite contested … though never quite as must as les pommes d’or (the golden apples) of Greek myth.

Pronunciation

About that title …

Pom, pom, pom is also an onomatopoeia³word that represents its own sound … like buzz or bang or boom that you’ll encounter in French music and culture.

Photo by Bruno Scramgnon from Pexels

• 1
  and the strikes, which sadly have lasted now almost two weeks, continuing to cause chaos across France
• 2
  You see the thing is, the average American seems to pronounce all three words – pomme, paume, and palme – exactly the same
• 3
  word that represents its own sound … like buzz or bang or boom