{"id":31729,"date":"2019-12-17T05:30:20","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T04:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=31729"},"modified":"2019-12-14T22:04:31","modified_gmt":"2019-12-14T21:04:31","slug":"french-language-pom-pom-pom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-language-pom-pom-pom\/","title":{"rendered":"French Language – Pom, pom, pom"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve heard it said that if you don’t encounter a language before a certain age, there are sounds in that language that will not only be difficult (if not impossible) for you to pronounce properly, but even hard for you to hear! I say it’s never too late as long as you apply yourself. This week, I thought we’d take a break from the holidays1<\/a><\/sup> and the strikes<\/a>, which sadly have lasted now almost two weeks, continuing to cause chaos across France<\/span> and look at three French words that will help hone your listening and speaking skills.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

La Pomme<\/strong><\/p>\n

J’aime bien les pommes. J’essaie d’en manger une tous les jours.<\/strong> (I really like apples. I try to eat one every day.) <\/em><\/p>\n

La Paume<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was\u00a0un \u00e9l\u00e8ve \u00e0 l’\u00e9cole<\/strong> (a student in school<\/em>) studying French history,\u00a0<\/em>I never quite got what apples had to do with the French Revolution. And then I realized that the famous\u00a0serment du jeu de paume<\/strong><\/a> (Tennis court oath<\/a>) was referring to a sport and not a fruit2<\/a><\/sup>You see the thing is, the average American seems to pronounce all three words – pomme, paume, and palme – exactly the same<\/span>. Le jeu de paume\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>is indeed a tennis-like sport played indoors, and originally with the\u00a0paume de la main<\/strong> (palm of the hand<\/em>), hence the name!<\/p>\n

La Palme<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most famous\u00a0palme\u00a0<\/strong>is perhaps\u00a0la Palme d’or\u00a0<\/strong>(The Golden Palm<\/em>) awarded each year to the top film at the Cannes Film Festival<\/a> which some years is quite contested … though never quite as must as les pommes d’or<\/strong> (the golden apples<\/em>) of Greek myth<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pronunciation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
Pom<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/th>
Pomme<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Paume<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/td>
Palme<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
le jeu de Paume<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/td>
La Palme d'or<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pom, pom, pom<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/td>
La pomme d'or<\/b>
Requested file could not be found (error code 404). Verify the file URL specified in the shortcode.<\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

 <\/p>\n

About that title …<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pom, pom,<\/strong> pom<\/strong> is also an onomatopoeia3<\/a><\/sup>word that represents its own sound … like buzz or bang or boom<\/span> that you’ll encounter in French music and culture.<\/p>\n

Photo by\u00a0Bruno Scramgnon\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>from\u00a0Pexels<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n