| français | English | Cymraeg |
|---|---|---|
| le rouge à lèvres | lipstick | minlliw, lliwydd |
| le rouge, le rouge à joues | rouge | powdwr coch, rouge, gruddliw |
| la suie | soot | huddygl, parddu |
| être sur le cas | to be on the case | |
| dire qch sur un ton pince-sans-rire | to say sth tongue in cheek | dwueud rhwybeth â’ch tafod yn eich boch dwueud rhwybeth â’ch tafod am eich dant |
| rappeler qch à qn | to remind sb of sth | atgoffa rhywun o rywbeth dwyn rhywbeth i gof rhywun |
| l’Hôtel Matignon | residence and offices of French Prime Minister | |
| l’orchestre (m) | stalls (in a theatre) | seddau blaen |
| la fosse | orchestra pit | pwll cerddorfa |
| le balcon | (dress) circle (in a theare) | seddau’r cylch cylch y boneddigion y cylch cyntaf |
| la loge | box (in a theatre) | bocs, côr seddau |
| le lavabo, la cuvette de lavabo | wash basin | basn ymolchi |
| la prunelle | sloe | eirinen dagu |
| le gin à la prunelle | sloe gin | jin eirin |
| racler les fonds de tiroir | to scrape the barrel | crafu’r gasgen |
| le chevalier | knight | marchog |
| le cavalier | knight (in chess) | marchog |
| le plan d’urgence | contingency plan | cynllun at raid cynllun wrth gefn |
Category: French (français)
Stalls, stinkards and parterres
In theatres in the UK the seats at ground level in front of the stage are usually known as stalls or orchestra stalls. If there are balconies above that level, the first balcony might be known as the dress circle, grand circle or balcony, the second as the upper circle, grand circle, first circle or circle, the third as the upper circle or gallery, and the fourth as the gallery. There may also be private boxes along the sides of the theatre. The exact terms vary from theatre to theatre.
In French the stalls are known as l’orchestre, les fauteuils d’orchestre or le parterre, the first level balcony might be le balcon, the second level balcony might be la galerie, and the third level might be le paradis (paradise) – ‘the gods’ is sometimes used for the highest level of balconies in English. Boxes are les loges.
A parterre in English is a “a formal garden constructed on a level surface, consisting of planting beds, typically in symmetrical patterns, separated and connected by gravel pathways.” [source]. Parterre can also refer to the ground level part of a theatre (stalls) and the audiences who congregate there. The word pit is also used [source]. The denizens of the pit or yard in Shakespeare’s Globe theatre were known as a groundlings, stinkards or penny-stinkers [source].
The French word parterre has also been borrowed into Russian as партер and is used to refer to the stalls in a theatre.
What terms are used in theatres you go to?
Matignon and other metonyms
Last night I discovered that the French equivalent of “Number 10”, which in the UK refers to the British Prime Minister, is Matignon or L’Hôtel de Matignon, the official residence of the French Prime Minister.
Number 10 is shorthand for Number 10 Downing Street, is the official residence and office of the British Prime Minister, and the headquarters of the executive branch of the British Government. The British Government is also referred to as “Westminster”, from the Palace of Westminster where the British Parliament meets.
The Scottish Parliament is informally referred as “Holyrood” – named after the area of Edinburgh where it meets, while in Northern Irish Assembly is referred as “Stormont”, after the Stormont Estate where the main government buildings are. Stormont comes from the Stoirmhonadh, (place for crossing the mountains) and is named after a district in Perthshire in Scotland. The National Assembly of Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru is referred to as the Assembly in English, and y Cynulliad or y Senedd (the Senate) in Welsh. I don’t know of any particular metonyms for it.
Using the name of a place or building to refer to an institution or other organisation is known as metonymy, from the Greek μετωνυμία (metōnymía) – a change of name. Other examples include using Hollywood to refer to the US film industry, and Silicon Valley to refer to the US high-tech sector.
Are metonyms used to refer to governments, prime ministers, or other government institutions in other countries?
Sorry, we’re out of smiles
Translation:
– A baguette please.
– With this?
– ?
– With a plant please
– With this?
– With a surfboard please
– With this?
– With a smile please
– Sorry. I don’t have any more of them.
The phrase avec ceci ? literally means “with this?”, but I suspect in this context it might mean something like “(would you like) anything else?”. Is that right?
This comic / cartoon was brought to you by Frantastique, who are offering French lessons with an exclusive 20% reduction to all Omniglots readers.
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg |
|---|---|---|
| avoir conscience (de qch) | (to be) aware (of) | ymwybodol (o); gwybod (am) |
| se rendre compte de | to become aware of | dod yn gyfarwydd â; dod yn ymwybodol o; dod i wybod |
| l’intoxication (f) alimentaire | food poisoning | gwenwyn bwyd |
| souscrire à | to subscribe (to an opinion) | cefnogi; arddel; coleddu |
| l’ovation (f) debout | standing ovation | cymeradwyaeth sefyll |
| on s’est levé pour l’acclaimer | he was given a standing ovation | cododd pawb i’w gymeradwyo |
| contrebandier | smuggler | smyglwr |
| trafiquant de drogue | drug smuggler | smyglwr cyffuriau |
| draguer | to dredge (a river) | carthu |
| les ouvrages anticrues; les ouvrages de protection contre les eaux |
flood defences | amddiffynfeydd llifogydd |
| la zone inondable | flood plain | gorlifdir; gwastatir; llifwaddod |
| être en crue | to flood (river) | gorlifo; llifo |
| occasionnel | occasional | ambell; ysbeidiol |
| la table d’appoint | occasional table | bwrdd bach |
| la flaque (d’eau) | puddle | pwll; pwdel |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg |
|---|---|---|
| adroit | dexterous | deheuig; llawdde; medrus |
| habile; qualifié | skilled | medrus; celfydd; crefftus |
| la trappe | trapdoor | trapddor |
| resquilleur | free-loader | sbwnjwr; progiwr |
| contagieux; infectieux | infectious | heintus; heintol |
| contagieux | contagious | heintus; ymledol |
| s’inviter à; entrer sans invitation | to gatecrash (a party) | ymwthio (i barti); gwthio’ch ffordd |
| la pâte brisée | shortcrust pastry | crwst brau |
| le poivron | sweet pepper | pupryn melys |
| directeur de thèse | academic supervisor | goruchwyliwr; arolygydd |
| les tissus d’ameublement (m) | soft furnishings | carpedi a llenni |
| la palourde | clam | cragen fylchog |
| la soupe de poisson | chowder | cawl |
| la semaine blanche | reading week | wythnos ddarllen |
La vie de baguette
The best-known type of French bread is the baguette, which was possibly introduced to France in the early 19th century by August Zang from Austria, though that’s another story.
Baguettes only stay fresh for a day, so what do you do with them once they start to go hard?
Here are a few possibilities:
Here’s a translation:
1. First Day: sliced with butter, sandwich
2. Second Day: toast
3. Third Day: French toast (“lost bread”)
4. Fourth Day: croutons, crumbs for the pigeons
5. Fifth Day: hammer, golf club
Image supplied by Frantastique, who can teach you all about the bizarre French cuisine, and help you to learn French.
I was told that if your baguette is a bit stale you can revive it by sprinkling a bit of water on slices and blasting them in a microwave for a short while. I haven’t tried this as I’m am microwaveless.
The French word baguette can also refer to:
– a magic wand = baguette magique; baguette de fée; baguette de sourcler
– chopsticks = baguettes chinoises
– conductor’s baton = baguette de direction; baguette de chef d’orchestre
– a drumstick = baguette de tambour
Expressions incorporating baguette include:
– sous la baguette de … = conducted by …
– faire marcher qn à la baguette = to rule sb with an iron hand
What are baguettes called in your country?
Multilingual musicians
A Sardinian friend of mine, Elena Piras, knows six languages (Sardinian, Italian, English, Scottish Gaelic, French and Spanish) and sings in most of them, plus a few others, including Scots, Bulgarian and Georgian.
Here’s a recording of a performance from earlier this year in which she sings in Sardinian, Scots, English, Scottish Gaelic and Bulgarian.
Elena aims to sing each language in as close to a native accent as possible, and I think she does this very well.
Another multilingual singer is Jean-Marc Leclercq or JoMo, who holds the world record for singing in the most languages in one performance: 22. I heard him doing this at the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin in May this year. His pronunciation in the languages I know didn’t sound entirely native-like, and it sounded like he had a strong French accent in the other languages.
Do you know other singers who sing in multiple languages?
How well do they pronounce them?
I myself sing in various languages, and try to pronounce as well as I can, but know I could do better.
Here’s a recording of a song I wrote earlier this year in the five languages I know best (English, French, Welsh, Mandarin and Irish):
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/204200300″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg |
|---|---|---|
| la fiche | flash card | cerdyn fflach |
| le dispositif d’écoute; le micro caché | bug (listening device) | |
| le bogue | bug (computer) | nam; diffyg |
| le virus; le microbe | bug (germ) | byg; clust |
| l’insecte (m); la bestiole | bug (insect) | pryf |
| mangeable | edible (palatable) | bwytadwy |
| comestible | edible (safe to eat) | da i’w fwyta |
| tremper | to dunk | gwlychu; trochi |
| trempé | soaked | gwlyb |
| trempé jusqu’aux os | soaked to the skin | gwlyb diferol; gwlyb diferol; gwlyb at y croen |
| un pétard mouillé | damp squib | matsien wleb |
| le pigeonneau | squab (baby pigeon) | cyw colomen |
| le fruit de l’imagination | figment of the imagination | dychmygu pethau; ffrwyth eich dychymyg |
Les mots de la semaine
| français | English | Cymraeg |
|---|---|---|
| la charnière; le gond | hinge | colyn; colfach; crogfach |
| le pot-de-vin | bribe | llwgrwobrwy; llwgrwobr; cil-dwrn |
| acheter; soudoyer; offirir des pots-de-vin | to bribe | llygru; prynu; llwgrwobrwyo; rhoi cil-dwrn |
| la corruption; la subornation | bribery | llwgrwobrwyaeth; llwgrwobrwyad |
| la corruption | corruption | llygredd; llygredigaeth |
| corrompu(e) | corrupt (person) | llygredig; llwgr |
| corrompre | to corrupt | llygru; difetha |
| le robinet à flotteur | ball-cock | tap pelen |
| l’accent (m) | emphasis (vocal stress) | pwyslais; pwys |
| le mot composé | compound word | gair cyfansawdd; cyfansoddair |
| le mot-valise | portmanteau word | cyfansoddair cywasgedig |