{"id":26004,"date":"2017-02-08T20:23:11","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T19:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=26004"},"modified":"2017-10-26T15:59:32","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T13:59:32","slug":"are-french-fries-french-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/are-french-fries-french-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Are French Fries French? Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why are there so many words in English that use “French” as an adjective? Aujourd\u2019hui<\/strong> (today) we are going to continue to look at some \u201cFrench\u201d words and see if they are really French. If you missed the first part, be sure to check it out before reading this one: Are French Fries French? Part 1<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Making Orangettes<\/a> — Step 3 by chriss on Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Frenching<\/h2>\n

Ce premier mot<\/strong> (this first word) could be connected to les frites<\/strong> (French fries). Frenching\u00a0<\/em>is another word for julienning<\/em>, a specific way of thinly slicing vegetables. If you have ever seen julienning<\/em> before, it’s easy to see how similar it is to the thin slices of potatoes that are used to make les frites<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Le probl\u00e8me<\/strong> (the problem) is that frenching<\/em> wasn’t used as another word for julienning<\/em> until after the invention of les frites<\/strong>. At the time of the invention of les frites<\/strong>, the word frenching<\/em> only referred to a way of cutting meat off the bone.<\/p>\n

Malheureusement<\/strong> (unfortunately), it does not seem possible that les frites<\/strong> got their \u201cFrench\u201d name from this culinary technique.<\/p>\n

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French Manicure<\/a> by Stella D on Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

French Manicure<\/h2>\n

La French manucure<\/strong> or literally “la manucure \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise”<\/strong><\/em> is a simple manucure<\/strong> that involves painting le bord de l’ongle<\/strong> (the tip of the nail) with un vernis blanc<\/strong> (white nail polish).<\/p>\n

Cependant<\/strong> (however), cette manucure \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> was invented aux<\/a> \u00c9tats-Unis<\/strong> in the 1970s. La manucure<\/strong> finds its origins in Hollywood and gets its name from the idea of France being sophisticated and more \u00e0 la mode<\/strong> (in style) than most other places.<\/p>\n

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French Roast<\/a> by Dan Bollinger. Licnesed under CC BY-SA 3.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

French Roast<\/h2>\n

Drinking un caf\u00e9<\/strong> in the streets of Paris<\/a> is a romantic image for many people.<\/p>\n

Le caf\u00e9<\/a> doit \u00eatre li\u00e9 \u00e0 la France !<\/strong>
\nThe coffee must be connected to France!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

La torr\u00e9faction<\/strong> (roasting) is not directly connected to France. French roast<\/em> is the name of a particular style of des grains de caf\u00e9 torr\u00e9fi\u00e9s<\/strong> (roasted coffee beans). C’est un type de torr\u00e9faction pouss\u00e9e<\/strong> (It\u2019s a dark roast) where les grains de caf\u00e9<\/strong> are roasted at 240\u00a0\u00b0C (464\u00a0\u00b0F)!<\/p>\n

While les grains de caf\u00e9<\/strong> et la torr\u00e9faction<\/strong> in general are not connected with France, some French roasters are known to produce very dark roasts, which could be the source of the English term.<\/p>\n

French dressing<\/h2>\n

La sauce salade<\/a> “fran\u00e7aise”<\/strong> (“French” dressing) is not much more than a standard vinaigrette<\/strong> (vinegarette) with a few more things added to it, notably du ketchup<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Alors pourquoi dit-on la sauce salade \u00ab fran\u00e7aise \u00bb ?<\/strong>
\nSo why do we say “French” dressing?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The origin of la sauce salade<\/a><\/strong> is obscure, but it is at least known to have been invented in aux \u00c9tats-Unis<\/strong>. The name could be an attempt to make it sound more sophisticated or to differentiate itself from a standard vinaigrette<\/strong> or from Italian dressing. One thing is sure, French dressing<\/em> is solidly American and not French.<\/p>\n

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Montmarte<\/a> by Constant Puyo,\u00a0Public Domain. Originally published in Camera Work<\/i> 16, 1906<\/span>.<\/p><\/div>\n

French Maid<\/h2>\n

L’uniforme de femme de m\u00e9nage fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> (the French maid uniform) finds its origins in the 19th<\/sup> century, but its modern interpretation means more than just une femme de m\u00e9nage<\/strong>. The black and white uniform is indeed from France, but the more tantalizing image comes from later reinterpretations of la tenue<\/strong> (the clothing).<\/p>\n

The modern idea of the French maid<\/em> came about through the incorporation of la soubrette<\/strong> (the French maid) in burlesque shows. This new image of la femme de m\u00e9nage<\/strong> was inspired by le cancan<\/strong> and resulted in changing l’uniforme<\/strong> into une tenue os\u00e9e<\/strong> (risqu\u00e9<\/em><\/a> clothing).<\/p>\n

So while l’uniforme<\/strong> is French, the modern idea of la soubrette<\/strong> comes more from American burlesque shows.<\/p>\n

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Daft Punk at global premiere of Tron: Legacy in Los Angeles<\/a> by James Whatley. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Le French Touch<\/h2>\n

Le French touch<\/strong> is a modern word in France that applies mostly to the modern electronic music<\/a> scene. It’s a way to refer to the unique sound coming from French artists like Daft Punk<\/em><\/a> and Justice<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Outside of France le French touch<\/strong> is known as House Music<\/em> or French House<\/em>. The word was first used in France in 1987, but quickly spread and was used in an ad campaign in the early 90s:<\/p>\n

“We Give a French Touch to House<\/span><\/i>”
\n\u00ab\u00a0Nous donnons une touche fran\u00e7aise \u00e0 la musique house\u00a0\u00bb<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The general idea of adding \u201cFrench\u201d<\/em> to words in order to make them sound more sophisticated remains a common theme this week. It is also interesting to see how the English adjective “French” has also made its way into la langue fran\u00e7aise<\/strong> (the French language) with le French touch<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Next week we\u2019ll take a look at the controversy surrounding the country of origin of les frites<\/strong>. In the meantime, check out the previous article in this series:<\/p>\n