La Bannière Étoilée – Celebrating The Fourth Of July In French Posted by John Bauer on Jul 4, 2018
Today is le 4 juillet, je Jour de l’Independance, la fête nationale des État-Unis (the fourth of July, Independence Day, the National Day of the United States). We – and by that I mean les Américains – may not be able to cheer for notre équipe de foot (our soccer team) at la Coupe du…
French Music: Guy Béart’s “L’Eau vive” Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jul 2, 2018
Recently, my house has been afflicted by un ver d’oreille. The literally definition of this term is an “earworm.” But, don’t worry—this post isn’t about those nasty little insects. Rather, in French, un ver d’oreille is a catchy tune that you just can’t get out of your head. It began with my mother-in-law (ma belle mère) singing a song…
Bleu, Blanc, Rouge – Let’s Go France! Posted by John Bauer on Jun 27, 2018
With la Coupe du monde (the World Cup) well underway, now is a good time to learn about le foot and how to support les bleus (the French national team). En 2010, when la Coupe du monde was en Afrique du sud (in South Africa), a couple of French comedians came out with a fun…
Time to wake up Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 26, 2018
Summer has arrived and for most kids getting up early, getting ready for school, and homework are all in the past (for now at least until that oh-so-distant mythical future that is la rentrée de septembre / September’s return to school!) As a result, this week’s song might seem a bit better suited to the fall, but I’ve…
La Coupe du Monde (The World Cup) Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Jun 26, 2018
Any soccer (or, rather, football) fans out there are surely aware of the important games that are occurring now. It is, of course, the World Cup (La Coupe du Monde), which occurs only once every four years. Unfortunately for American fans, the United States did not make it through qualifications. But, you can always still root…
Early Mornings And Tired Eyes – Sleepy French Expression Posted by John Bauer on Jun 20, 2018
The last couple of weeks have been exhausting for me. The long days stretching into even longer nights have left me looking pretty groggy when I arrive au bureau (at the office) in the morning. After a stressful week of work, travel, and being on the verge of catching a cold, the bags under my…
Where and When – useful expressions in French Posted by Tim Hildreth on Jun 20, 2018
Relativity isn’t just a concept in physics. Knowing the relative order of events in time, or the relative location of objects in space, is as useful here on la Terre (Earth) as it is in l’éspace (space). Fortunately French has some handy vocabulary that we can use to differentiate both. Ça se passe où? /…