{"id":23301,"date":"2016-05-03T05:12:44","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T03:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=23301"},"modified":"2016-05-03T13:17:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T11:17:15","slug":"zapping-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/zapping-for-beginners\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Zapping\u2019 for beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u00ab\u00a0Le <strong>zapping<\/strong> est, dans le langage familier, une mani\u00e8re de regarder la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision consistant \u00e0 changer r\u00e9guli\u00e8rement de cha\u00eene, et le plus souvent \u00e0 une fr\u00e9quence \u00e9lev\u00e9e, dans le but de trouver un programme que le spectateur jugera satisfaisant \u00e0 regarder. Une pratique courante est de <strong>zapper<\/strong> durant les coupures de publicit\u00e9.\u00a0\u00bb*<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><a href=\"https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zapping\">https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zapping<\/a>, May 1, 2016<\/p>\n<p>In 1985 France only had three TV channels: TF1, France 2, and France 3 (four if you include Canal+, France\u2019s first pay cable channel .\u00a0 .\u00a0 .), but even with limited options to choose from, watching TV was a great way to build my language skills! And I have to admit I took full advantage of it when I lived in France in the 80&#8217;s and 90&#8217;s!<\/p>\n<p>Today, France has an ever larger number of cable channels and ever growing numbers of shows to choose from . . . and \u2018<em>le zapping<\/em>\u2019 is commonplace, but watching TV is still a great way to build language skills. Here are two ways that I&#8217;ve found to use television to improve your French.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018les Pubs\/la publicit\u00e9\u2019 (Commercials\/advertising)<\/p>\n<p>Because they\u2019re short, often repetitive, and designed for maximum engagement, \u2018<em>les pubs\u2019<\/em> are great for practicing your French comprehension skills. If you\u2019re not lucky enough to live somewhere where you have regular access to French TV, you can still find great commercials to watch online like these 80\u2019s classics:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u2666 Grace Jones | Citro\u00ebn Cx 2 1985 Commercial \u2666\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ULB2EoYdE38?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>[Transciption: &#8220;<em>J&#8217;aime, j&#8217;aime, j&#8217;aime . . . CX2 . . . la beaut\u00e9\u00a0 sauvage!<\/em>&#8221; (&#8220;I love (it), I love (it), I love (it) . . . CX2 . . . savage beauty.&#8221;)]<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MANPOWER publicit\u00e9 ensemble\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-qAEXEjm_J4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>[Transciption: &#8220;<em>On a parfois besoin d&#8217;autres hommes pour r\u00e9ussir . .. ensemble. Manpower<\/em>&#8221; (&#8220;Sometimes you need additional \/other men to succeed . . . together. Manpower&#8221;)]<\/p>\n<p>American classics . . . <em>en VF<\/em> **<\/p>\n<p>Watching shows that you\u2019re already familiar with can be a great way to improve your French. You know the plot and you\u2019re familiar with the characters, so you can focus on the language and leverage the elements of the show you already know to help you \u201cfill in the gaps\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>There were two things I loved about watching shows &#8220;from home&#8221; in French:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Things have gotten better over the years, but dubbing remains an art. Getting the voices to match and the sound to feel natural takes real talent. In the mid 80\u2019s it always seemed like there was only a tiny pool of good voice talent. Watching any number of dubbed American TV shows meant hearing the same voices over and over again. Sometimes it seemed as if every young girl had the same voice whether she was Sam on \u2018<em>Madame est servie\u2019<\/em> (Who\u2019s the Boss?) or Laura Ingalls on \u2018<em>La Petite Maison dans la Prarie\u2019<\/em> (Little House on the Prairie).<\/li>\n<li>The titles! As you can tell from the two examples above, it&#8217;s not always obvious from the translation of a show\u2019s title what the original show is. See if you can guess the original TV show from the French titles below (translations and answers follow . . . but no peeking!)***\n<ul>\n<li><em>Ma sorci\u00e8re bien aim\u00e9e<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>L\u2019amour du risque<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>La croisi\u00e8re s\u2019amuse<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Sh\u00e9rif, fais-moi peur<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Amour, Gloire et Beaut\u00e9<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les Ann\u00e9es coup de c\u0153ur<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Arnold et Willy<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Deux flics \u00e0 Miami<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>A la Maison-Blanche<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Buffy contre les vampires<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Ch\u00e9rie, j\u2019ai r\u00e9tr\u00e9ci les gosses<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>La F\u00eate \u00e0 la maison<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>24 heures chrono<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les Experts<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les feux de l\u2019amour<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les Disparus<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Mer parrains sont magiques<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>New York, police judiciaire<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Vocabulaire suppl\u00e9mentaire<\/em> \/ Supplemental Vocabulary<\/p>\n<p><em>l\u2019\u00e9mission de t\u00e9l\u00e9<\/em> \u2013 TV show<\/p>\n<p><em>la cha\u00eene de t\u00e9l\u00e9vision<\/em> \u2013 TV channel<\/p>\n<p><em>la poste de t\u00e9l\u00e9<\/em> \u2013 television set<\/p>\n<p><em>la t\u00e9l\u00e9commande<\/em> \u2013 remote control<\/p>\n<p><em>la pub \/ la publicit\u00e9<\/em>\u00a0 &#8211; commercial \/ advertizing<\/p>\n<p>* \u00ab\u00a0<em>Le zapping<\/em>\u00a0\u00bb is, in familiar language, a way to watch tv where the viewer changes the channel, generally at an elevated frequency, with the goal of finding a program that they find \u2018watchable\u2019. A common practice is to \u201c<em>zapper\u201d<\/em> during commercial breaks.<\/p>\n<p>** <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lefigaro.fr\/cinema\/2010\/08\/03\/03002-20100803ARTFIG00482-tes-vous-vo-ou-vf.php\">VF<\/a>: When you go to see a foreign film at the movies in France, you will usually find you have two choices. You can see most foreign films in either <em>VO (version originale) <\/em>or <em>VF (version fran\u00e7aise)<\/em>. Films (or in the case of this blog, TV shows) in VF are dubbed in French. Films (or TV shows) in VO are shown in their native language with French subtitles.<\/p>\n<p>*** Some of these shows even have their own opening sequences in France. I&#8217;ve linked to a few below.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Ma sorci\u00e8re bien aim\u00e9e &#8211; <\/em>Bewitched (&#8220;My beloved witch&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/h9HIbWxdYxo\" target=\"_blank\">L\u2019amour du risque<\/a> &#8211; <\/em>Hart to Hart (&#8220;For the love of risk&#8221;)<\/li>\n<li><em>La croisi\u00e8re s\u2019amuse &#8211; <\/em>The Love Boat (&#8220;The cruise has a good time&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Sh\u00e9rif, fais-moi peur &#8211; <\/em>The Dukes of Hazzard (Sherrif, scare me)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/ucxd2Ano6vM\" target=\"_blank\">Amour, Gloire et Beaut\u00e9<\/a> &#8211; <\/em>The Bold and the Beautiful (&#8220;Love, Glory, and Beauty&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les Ann\u00e9es coup de c\u0153ur &#8211; <\/em>The Wonder Years (<em>&#8216;coup de c\u0153ur&#8217;<\/em> is en expression that would loosely translate as &#8220;favorites&#8221; . . . so this show is &#8220;Our favorite years&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1ZcC2hEvtaY\" target=\"_blank\">Arnold et Willy<\/a> &#8211; <\/em>Diff&#8217;rent Strokes<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Deux flics \u00e0 Miami &#8211; <\/em>Miami Vice (&#8216;<em>flics&#8217; <\/em>is a slang term for &#8220;police&#8221; equivalent to &#8220;cops&#8221; in English . . . so this show is &#8220;Two cops in Miami&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>A la Maison-Blanche &#8211; <\/em>The West Wing (&#8220;In the White House&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Buffy contre les vampires &#8211; <\/em>Buffy the Vampire Slayer (&#8220;Buffy vs. the vampires&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Ch\u00e9rie, j\u2019ai r\u00e9tr\u00e9ci les gosses- <\/em>Honey, I shrunk the kids (&#8216;<em>gosses&#8217; <\/em>is a slang term for &#8220;kids\/children&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>La F\u00eate \u00e0 la maison &#8211; <\/em>Full House (&#8220;Party in the house&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>24 heures chrono &#8211; <\/em>24<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les Experts &#8211; <\/em>CSI (&#8220;The Experts&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les feux de l\u2019amour &#8211; <\/em>The Young and the Restless (&#8220;The fires of love&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Les Disparus &#8211; <\/em>Lost (&#8220;The dissappeared&#8221; or &#8220;The missing&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Mer parrains sont magiques &#8211; <\/em>The Fairly Odd Parents (&#8216;<em>parrains&#8217; <\/em>means &#8220;godparents&#8221; . . . so this show is &#8220;My godparents are magic&#8221;)<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>New York, police judiciaire &#8211; <\/em>Law &amp; Order<em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00ab\u00a0Le zapping est, dans le langage familier, une mani\u00e8re de regarder la t\u00e9l\u00e9vision consistant \u00e0 changer r\u00e9guli\u00e8rement de cha\u00eene, et le plus souvent \u00e0 une fr\u00e9quence \u00e9lev\u00e9e, dans le but de trouver un programme que le spectateur jugera satisfaisant \u00e0 regarder. Une pratique courante est de zapper durant les coupures de publicit\u00e9.\u00a0\u00bb* https:\/\/fr.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zapping, May 1&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/zapping-for-beginners\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,13],"tags":[2149,432,12514],"class_list":["post-23301","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-culture","category-vocabulary","tag-france","tag-french-vocabulary","tag-vocabulaire-francais"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23301"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23309,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23301\/revisions\/23309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}