in French garbage cans are called “poubelle” after the name of Eugène-René Poubelle, a prefet de police (head of the Paris police department) who passed a law on March 7, 1884 saying that “from now on landlords must provide their tenants with a box that allows them to dispose of their garbage and fire remains.” A [...]
Franglish is also a new language exchange event taking place in bars across Paris each week. Brainchild of Nicolas Saurel and Steven Annonziata, two childhood friends from France who studied in the UK, Franglish offers the opportunity to practice both languages in a laid-back environment. The idea, of course, is not to mix the two [...]
There’s Bagels & Brownies in the 6eme, and Twinkie right around the corner from me. But nothing speaks to the Frenchies’ weird and un-ironic obsession with American food culture like the name of this cafe.
I never managed to grasp the passé simple in my high school French classes. But I sure remember the songs we would sing, from “Alouette” to one that began, “Bonsoir, mes amis, bonsoir…” It is long overdue, but some academics have finally realized that through song French can be easier to learn (albeit less thoroughly) [...]
While you can get by in Paris without speaking French (particularly if you speak English), it’s not a strategy I’d recommend. You will be constantly frustrated, both by your inability to fully understand what is going on around you and your inability to say what needs to be said. And the people with whom you are trying to [...]
Seen on the TGV. Why not J’♥ Frites? Because English is so much cooler in France. Soon, we’ll all be speaking English here. No need to learn French!
Forgive the quality of the above image but I tore this ad out of Direct Matin in the morning, folded it up, and didn’t retrieve it until hours later. I don’t know what is more comical: the use of English or the very idea of cheesy creamy beef brochettes. I went to the advertised Web [...]
Time for another round of curious translations of American movie titles into French. Interestingly, some of these movies are being released contemporaneously; others were released in the U.S. back in January and are only now showing in France. By contrast, the titles of Inception, Night and Day, Salt, Twelve, andToy Story 3 are exactly the same in France as [...]
My default position has always been to use “vous,” as a safeguard against offending anyone with whom I might be talking. I always just figured that it’s a better bet to be on the more formal side. But there’s a trap. You should never “vous” a child, for example. And yes, I’m the idiot talking [...]
Le French Boyfriend and I speak a bizarre mix of Franglish or Français – normally, he speaks French and I reply in English, which never fails to bring up some bizzaro language peculiarity. A few weeks ago it was a gorgeous, sunny day, and we were walking down the Ile St. Louis in search of [...]
