Practicing French By Playing Video Games – StarCraft In French Posted by John Bauer on Apr 19, 2017
I am not a big gamer, but parfois (sometimes) I like playing les jeux vidéo (video games) in between having to study and work. Recently un jeu (a game) from my childhood, StarCraft, was released for free. L’entreprise (the company) behind the game, Blizzard, is getting ready for a new HD release of le jeu…
A final trip to the store Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 18, 2017
Last week* we took a tour around France and learned about les gentilés (‘the names of the inhabitants’) of a number of French cities and towns. This week we’ll complete our shopping trip with a look at the new food labeling coming to France en avril (in April). In order to help les consommateurs…
French Expressions: Pregnancy and Childbirth Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Apr 17, 2017
I’m due soon with my second son and so have had pregnancy and birth on my mind a lot lately. I’ve always loved the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s use of birth and pregnancy in his writings to denote giving birth to ideas in philosophy. In one famous example, Nietzsche wrote, “What saved me then [from madness]? Nothing…
Joyeuses Pâques ! Easter Vocabulary in French Posted by Josh Dougherty on Apr 15, 2017
This week has been a holy one for Christians around the world. It’s called Paschal Triduum (and is sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum), and it contains 3 important days in the life of Jesus Christ. Maundy Thursday (jeudi saint) commemorates the Maundy (the Washing of the Feet) and the Last Supper. Good Friday…
How Counting In French Helped Me Remember Les Nombres Posted by John Bauer on Apr 12, 2017
Les nombres (numbers) are difficult for me to remember in French. If I’m not forgetting the words for chaque nombre (each number), I’m trying to figure out if we’re talking about four twenties or eighty! I have a hard time remembering les nombres in any language other than ma langue maternelle (my native language). I…
Shopping and Geography in France, Part 2 Posted by Tim Hildreth on Apr 11, 2017
Last week we learned that – at least according to leurs propres pubs* (their own ads) – les supermarchés E.Leclerc sont les moins chers en France. (the Leclerc supermarkets are the least expensive in France.) This week we’ll take a closer look at the towns visited by the Leclerc price team. Lille – is…
More Faux Amis Posted by Elizabeth Schmermund on Apr 10, 2017
We’ve gone over faux amis, or false cognates, on the Transparent Language blog before (here and here). But faux amis are one of the most likely vocabulary issues to trip up new French learners…so it is always worth going over again! For a quick recap, les faux amis are words that seem to be the same in…