{"id":30894,"date":"2018-11-07T20:22:31","date_gmt":"2018-11-07T19:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=30894"},"modified":"2018-11-07T20:22:31","modified_gmt":"2018-11-07T19:22:31","slug":"learning-voting-vocabulary-with-a-ballot-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/learning-voting-vocabulary-with-a-ballot-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Learning Voting Vocabulary With A Ballot Mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the spooky<\/a> end of October, les \u00e9lections de mi-mandat<\/strong> (the midterm elections) quickly arrived with a day involving more than just making decisions on future government positions and new laws. For French learners, it was also a vocabulary test<\/a> every time the topic came up in conversation!<\/p>\n

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Image<\/a> from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.<\/p><\/div>\n

Living en France<\/strong>, the US midterm elections meant more than making sure my absentee ballot was received and that all the circles were filled in properly. The day was also filled with an unexpected challenge when I needed to explain les \u00e9lections de mi-mandat<\/strong> and how I was able to vote in them while abroad.<\/p>\n

When the topic first came up, I quickly realized that I needed to learn some vocabulary<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Tu peux voter depuis la France ?<\/strong>
\nOui, il faut juste demander qu’on te donne un ballot.<\/strong>
\nUn ballot ?<\/strong>
\nOui, il faut avoir un ballot pour voter.<\/strong>
\nTu es s\u00e9rieux ?<\/strong>
\nOui, j’imagine c’est pareil en France !<\/strong>
\nArr\u00eate de plaisanter !<\/strong>
\nMais ce n’est pas une blague<\/a> !<\/strong>
\nTu as besoin d’un idiot pour pouvoir voter ?<\/strong>
\nComment ?<\/strong>
\nMais c’est ce que tu viens de dire !<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can vote from France?<\/em>
\nYes, you just have to ask for a dimwit.<\/em>
\nA dimwit?<\/em>
\nYes, you need a dimwit to vote.<\/em>
\nAre you serious?<\/em>
\nYes, I imagine it’s the same in France!<\/em>
\nStop joking!<\/em>
\nBut it’s not a joke!<\/em>
\nYou need an idiot to be able to vote?<\/em>
\nWhat?<\/em>
\nBut it’s what you just said!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At that moment it became clear I had made a mistake<\/a> and said something weird<\/a> en fran\u00e7ais<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Un ballot<\/strong> in French is not a ballot<\/em> in English<\/a>. It has many meanings, but the most unfortunate one for les anglophones<\/strong> (English speakers) who are trying to explain le vote<\/strong> (voting) is dimwit<\/em> or fool<\/em>. It’s a rather soft and somewhat outdated insult that will turn a few heads if you accidentally use it in such a serious context.<\/p>\n

Once I collected my thoughts, I then had to try to make myself understood so mon coll\u00e8gue<\/strong><\/a> (my coworker) didn’t think I was crazy. I wanted to learn the right vocabulary<\/a> so my goal was to try to make them say the word I needed to learn:<\/p>\n

Non ! Je voulais dire le papier o\u00f9 on marque ses choix.<\/strong>
\nUn bulletin de vote ?<\/strong>
\nOui ! Au moins je pense que c’est \u00e7a… On peut en demander un \u00e0 distance et apr\u00e8s il suffit de l’envoyer par la poste.<\/strong>
\nAh oui, je vois.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No! I wanted to say the paper where you mark your choices.<\/em>
\nA ballot paper?<\/em>
\nYes! At least I think that’s it… You can ask for one remotely and after you just need to send it by mail.<\/em>
\nAh yes, I see.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I clearly made my point and learned how to say un bulletin de vote<\/strong>, but I still wasn’t sure how to say le vote par procuration<\/strong> (absentee ballot). I wasn’t going to push things further, but when I had a chance to look it up I discovered how much election vocabulary I didn’t know en fran\u00e7ais<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

As an aside, I also discovered a fun expression fran\u00e7aise<\/strong><\/a> (French expression) involving the word ballot<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n

C’est ballot !<\/strong>
\nThat’s a shame!<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Voici un vocabulaire des \u00e9lections :<\/strong><\/p>\n

L’\u00e9lection – Election
\nLe vote – Voting, vote
\nLe scrutin – Voting, vote
\nLe bulletin de vote – Ballot
\nLe vote par procuration – Absentee Ballot
\nLes \u00e9lections de mi-mandat – Midterm Elections
\nLe mandat – Mandate, Term
\nVoter – To Vote
\n\u00c9lire – To elect
\n\u00c9lu – Elected
\nLe citoyen – Citizen
\nSonder – To Poll
\nLe sondage – Poll (noun)
\nLa Maison-Blanche – The White House
\nLe s\u00e9nat – Senate
\nLe s\u00e9nateur – Senator
\nLe Congr\u00e8s – Congress
\nLa Chambre des repr\u00e9sentants – House of Representatives
\nLe repr\u00e9sentant – Representative
\nLe district – District
\nLe gouverneur – Governor
\nL’amendement – Amendment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

After the spooky end of October, les \u00e9lections de mi-mandat (the midterm elections) quickly arrived with a day involving more than just making decisions on future government positions and new laws. For French learners, it was also a vocabulary test every time the topic came up in conversation! Living en France, the US midterm elections…<\/p>\n

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