{"id":32170,"date":"2020-07-28T05:30:23","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T03:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=32170"},"modified":"2020-07-29T02:53:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T00:53:02","slug":"french-vocabulary-town-and-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/french-vocabulary-town-and-country\/","title":{"rendered":"French Vocabulary – Town and Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s easy to think, when you look at a bilingual dictionary, that there is a right word in French for every word in English. Sometimes though picking the right word<\/a> in another language is complicated by nuances of meaning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Le Rat de la ville et le Rat des champs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ville<\/strong> (n.f;\u00a0la ville<\/em>) is one such word. In English, the word\u00a0ville<\/strong> can be translated as either\u00a0town<\/em> or\u00a0city<\/em>. Knowing which of them someone is referring to – whether they mean a city or town – depends on context.<\/p>\n

Le Rat de la ville et le Rat des champs <\/strong>(The city rat and the field rat<\/em>, otherwise known in English as The country mouse and the city mouse<\/em>) is a tale by Jean de la Fontaine based on an earlier fable by Aesop.<\/div>\n

Legally speaking, the French government only recognizes three administrative groups:\u00a0la r\u00e9gion<\/strong> (the region<\/em>, of which France has 13<\/a>, not including les DOM-TOM<\/a>), le d\u00e9partement<\/strong> (the department<\/em>, 95 within the borders of France, 2 in Corsica, and 5 overseas<\/a> 1<\/a><\/sup>The department number (75 for Paris, 92 for the Hauts-de-Seine where I used to live) shows up in postal codes (75015 for the 15th arrondissement in Paris, 92270 for Bois-Colombes)<\/span>), and la commune<\/strong> (the community<\/em>, almost 35,000 across all regions!<\/a>).<\/p>\n

When you get away from the legal definitions though, there are many different terms for describing the places where people live:<\/p>\n

le hameau<\/strong> \/ hamlet<\/em> – a gathering of a small number of houses or buildings, like le hameau de la reine<\/a> at Versailles<\/p>\n

le village<\/strong> \/ village – generally more rural, strictly speaking\u00a0un village a moins de 2 ooo habitants\u00a0<\/strong>(a village has fewer than 2,000 residents)<\/em><\/p>\n

la ville, qui peut \u00eatre petite, moyenne, ou grande<\/strong> \/\u00a0the city, which can be small (5,000 to 20,000 people), medium (20,000 – 50,000), or large (more than 50,000)<\/em><\/p>\n

la cit\u00e9<\/strong> \/ the city<\/em> –\u00a0 In French, the word cit\u00e9<\/strong>\u00a0is generally used to refer to a specific part of a city or type of city, as opposed to a city in general. You’ll find it in expressions like\u00a0cit\u00e9<\/strong> medi\u00e9vale<\/strong> (medieval city<\/em>),\u00a0la cit\u00e9\u00a0<\/strong>universitaire<\/b>\u00a0(the university area<\/em>), and of course l’\u00cele de la Cit\u00e9<\/strong> on which the first settlements that would grow to become Paris appeared.<\/p>\n

le quartier<\/strong> \/ the quarter, neighborhood – <\/em>with their unique character and their local markets, these smaller parts of cities and towns are often the lifeblood of the community<\/p>\n

l’arrondissement<\/strong> \/\u00a0borough, ward<\/em> – it’s only taken me 35 years to figure out that arrondissements\u00a0<\/em><\/a>are what we here in the US would think of as a\u00a0ward<\/em> or\u00a0borough.\u00a0<\/em>In the same way that, say, Manhattan is a borough of the city of New York, the 1st, 4th, 15th, 16th and all the other arrondissements <\/em>are semi-autonomous, but all part of the city of Paris.<\/p>\n

Pour en savoir plus<\/strong> \/ To learn more<\/em>: Turns out, it isn’t just those of us learning French who struggle with these definitions. I found these two articles from French news outlets to be very helpful in compiling this week’s post. From Le T\u00e9l\u00e9gramme Soir: Quelle diff\u00e9rence entre une ville, une commune, un bourg ou un village? <\/b><\/a>(What’s the difference between a town\/city, a community, a borough or a<\/em> village?) and from Le Monde:\u00a0Entre ‘ville’ et ‘village’, o\u00f9 passe la fronti\u00e8re?<\/b><\/a> (Between ‘town\/city’ and ‘village’, where is the line (lit. border)?<\/em> <\/div>\n

Pour finir<\/strong><\/p>\n

To wrap up<\/em> here is a fun little\u00a0clip<\/strong> (video<\/em>) from the French singer Voyou<\/a> accompanied by Yelle<\/a>. It’s a funky little song accompanied by some decidedly interesting views of Paris. Qu’en pensez-vous des bruits de la ville? <\/strong>(What do you think about the sounds of the city?)<\/em><\/p>\n