Marcel Pagnol: Un Trésor de la Littérature Française (A Treasure of French Literature) Posted by mtaulier on Mar 7, 2014
Do the names Victor Hugo, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas or Gustave Flaubert sound familiar? All four of these French novelists have earned their place in the pantheon of literary greats and their books continue to inspire legions of readers nearly two centuries after they were written. What about Marcel Pagnol? Doesn’t ring a bell? Pagnol…
*HAPPY* We Are From Paris! Posted by Hichem on Mar 6, 2014
Unless you’ve been living under une pierre (a rock), you most likely have noticed that many cities throughout the world are dancing to the rhythm of “HAPPY“, the song of Pharrell Williams. Last year, Williams made deux gros tubes (two big hits): “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky” (with the French group Daft Punk) Of course, Parisians couldn’t pretend like…
Astérix: A French Comic for the Whole Family Posted by mtaulier on Mar 5, 2014
Lisez-vous des bandes dessinées (Do you read comics)? I’m not referring to classic American comics with superheroes fighting les forces du mal (the forces of evil). Everybody has heard of Superman, Batman and X-men. The popularity of these characters, once confined to the pages of paperback comic books, has soared in recent years thanks to…
“Un Roi Clandestin” (“An Illegal King”) in France Posted by Hichem on Mar 4, 2014
This is the extraordinary story of a little prodige du jeu d’échecs (chess prodigy) who was forced to flee his country, le Bangladesh, in order to avoid the threat of being abducted. Un matin d’hiver (one winter morning), he ended up with his père (father) in a Parisian banlieue (suburb.) Despite their many efforts and their tough situation, the French…
Pour les Gourmands and Gastronomes: Crêpes Suzette Posted by mtaulier on Mar 3, 2014
La cuisine est une passion Française (Cuisine is a French passion). Beginning in the 17th century, gastronomy reached new heights among la noblesse (the nobility) and the art of fine cuisine was refined over the course of several centuries. The stereotype of a French chef often seen in cartoons does not stray too far from…
French Grammar: Ça alors! (How About That!) Posted by Hichem on Feb 27, 2014
Let’s quickly quiz your French grammar: Can you tell what the difference is between “ça“, “çà“, and “sa“? “Ça“, “çà“, and “sa“: Just take a look at them. All three se prononcent exactement de la même façon (are pronounced exactly the same way.) How on Earth then are we to tell them apart—especially if we are to run into them in the middle…
French Indefinite Subject Pronoun Posted by Hichem on Feb 25, 2014
It’s time to turn French Grammar “ON” again here on the Transparent French Blog! And what a coincidence it is, because today you’ll be given a few precious pointers as to how to use the indefinite French pronoun “On“, which, as we know very well, can often cause some serious headache to the débutants learners of the French language…