Category Archives: Language Tips

Larousse 2009 recognizes the blogosphere

Posted on July 25, 2008 by Susan

Eric m’a envoyé une liste de néologismes qu’il trouve débile: Ce que l’on peut dire Je lui ai demandé: quel pourcentage des nouveaux mots comprends-tu? Il a répondu en les divisant en trois catégories: ——————- Je comprends très bien: autonomiser, … Continue reading →

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Recommended French for recent English words

Posted on April 22, 2008 by Susan

New English words like ‘to podcast’ and ‘gender studies’ are causing problems in French. They were coined in English to correspond to American trends that took off around the world. If you led a country and your citizens used those … Continue reading →

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“Hein?”

Posted on April 2, 2008 by Susan

Bernard Bichakjian writes: In a world of infelicitous events and disingenuous newsmakers, it is soothing for the soul and stimulating for the mind to click on the New York Times Op-Ed tab and thence, on Wednesdays and Sundays, on Maureen … Continue reading →

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Un forum pour la traduction

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Susan

Pour les questions concernant la traduction, regardez ce forum. http://forum.wordreference.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3

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Bubbly wines 2

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Susan
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words, words, words !

Posted on March 13, 2008 by Susan

The Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication has announced a Semaine de la Langue Française starting March 14. Check out its whimsical website that lets us get to know and play with a number of fun French words.

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How would YOU translate ‘Casse-toi’?

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Susan

President Sarkozy is known for his temper. (Americans saw it first hand on 60 Minutes!) A recent explosion appeared the other day on the French news and is still on YouTube for all to see and hear. It’s not the … Continue reading →

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Silly bilingual joke: Theft in Paris

Posted on February 18, 2008 by Susan

A thief in Paris planned to steal some paintings from the Louvre. After careful planning, he got past security, stole the paintings and made it safely to his van.However, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran … 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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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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