Author Archives: Susan

The Essence of the French

Posted on February 18, 2008 by Susan

A British Euro-joke tells of a meeting of officials from various countries who listen to a British proposal, nodding sagely at its numerous benefits; the French delegate stays silent until the end, then taps his pencil and remarks, “I can … Continue reading →

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In under 2 minutes – answers to your questions about French words

Posted on February 17, 2008 by Susan

Eminent linguistics professor Bernard Cerquiglini answers questions about French words from viewers all over the planet. He appears almost daily on TV5’s “Merci professeur.” Can we make “premier ministre” feminine, for example? If you are a subscriber to TV5 on … Continue reading →

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The French equivalent of Jon Stewart

Posted on February 10, 2008 by Susan

Une amie française m’a recommendé les commentaires d’une comique qui fait du ‘stand-up’ (sic!) et qui ressemble, à mon avis, à notre Jon Stewart ou Bill Maher. Elle s’appelle Anne Roumanoff, elle a fait Sciences Po (i.e., a étudié la … Continue reading →

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Pavé brioché at your local Starbucks

Posted on January 28, 2008 by Susan

Stephanie writes about Starbucks in Paris “I just can’t imagine folks in the States munching duck liver along with their grande skim lattes!!”

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Hand-drawn phonetic chart

Posted on January 27, 2008 by Susan

Whiteboard as photographed by a student in my actual classroom. (I redraw the picture as needed for the benefit of each student). A more prosaic guide to French pronunciation (with fewer colors) can be found HERE. Click on whatever sound … Continue reading →

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Check out “Lingo Babe” for French pronunciation

Posted on January 27, 2008 by Susan

Want to hear how various French words are pronounced? Choose either “Lingo Babe” or “Lingo Dude” to pronounce whatever word you want to hear. A riot! The site is an ad but, if you send it to someone (yourself?), you … Continue reading →

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Learning a second language will protect your brain!

Posted on January 27, 2008 by Susan

Stave off mental decline by learning a second language! A recent study echoes Dr. Andrew Weil’s observation shows that “the best mental workouts I can think of are learning a new computer operating system and learning a new language.” (Dr. … Continue reading →

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A common mistake (in no book)

Posted on January 27, 2008 by Susan

Students often use the expression “ça va” as an adjective. I’ve heard, for example, “Le film était ça va,” to mean the film was “OK.” A French person would have no clue what that sentence meant. “Ça va” means “it’s … Continue reading →

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Pipole ?

Posted on January 24, 2008 by Susan

A brand-new French adjective, stolen from the English noun, “people,” splashes across the cover of L’Express. Its other form, “pipole,” makes it look more French. They both refer to celebrities of all kinds – movies, sports, politics, etc. (See my … Continue reading →

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Watch out for potentially hazardous anglicisms!

Posted on January 14, 2008 by Susan

Watch out for unsuspected French nuances of some of the new anglicisms! We could get in trouble if we don’t realize them. A friend of mine there, for example, warned me not to confuse the new verb “tchatcher” with its … Continue reading →

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