Category: French (français)

Polyglot Conference, New York

By Simon

This weekend I am in New York for the 2015 Polyglot Conference. I arrived yesterday afternoon after an uneventful flight from Manchester. It took a couple of hours to get out of the airport, and another hour or so to Manhattan.

Last night I met up with some other polyglots near the Statan Island ferry terminal – we were planning to take the ferry over to Statan Island, but unfortunately it started raining heavily and we decided to postpone the trip. We explored Lower Manhattan and Greenwich Village for a while, then I went home, while the others went on to a bar.

The conference started this morning at the SVA Chelsea Theater, which is just around the corner from where I’m staying. There were talks all day about a variety of interesting subjects, including Forensic Linguistics, Proto-Indo-European and Lakota language revival. There are plenty of people here who I know from previous polyglot events, and I’ve met lots of new people.

So far I’ve spoken English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Japanese, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Esperanto and Toki Pona, and have met people who speak various other languages.

The conference continues tomorrow, and then I have a couple of days of sightseeing before returning to the UK.

Hi. Keefak? Ça va?

By Simon

Hi. Keefak? Ça va?

What language(s) do they speak in Beirut?

According to an interesting programme and article I came across today, many people in Beirut speak Arabic, French and English, and frequently switch between them, often using two of them, or all three in the same sentence.

While some might see this kind codeswitching as a sign that people haven’t learnt any of the languages completely, others believe it is a way people express their Lebanese identity. In fact, codeswitching requires a good knowledge of all the languages you’re switching between, especially when it occurs within sentences.

Are there other places where most people regularly codeswitch between three of more languages like this?

In Wales codeswitching between English and Welsh is common, and with some of my friends we add French, and/or other languages, into the mix.

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon
français English Cymraeg
les dentier dentures dannedd gosod
le chantier building site safle adeiladu
la dictature dictatorship unbennaeth; awtocratiaeth; teyrnlywodraeth
le dictateur dictator unben; teyrn
l’autocratie absolute dictatorship unbennaeth
une quinzaine; quine jours; deux semaines fortnight pythefnos
le dent de sagesse, le gros dent wisdom tooth cilddant olaf, cefnddant
poser sa candidature pour to apply for (a job) cynnig, ymgeisio, ymgynnig, gwneud cais
dépliant leaflet taflen; dalen
la disquette floppy disk disg llipa
déblie; allumé geek, nerd llipryn, gwlanen, brechdan
le monument classifié listed builing adeilad cofrestredig
le conseil d’administration board (of directors) bwrdd (cyfarwyddwyr)
l’affairiste; le magouiller wheeler dealer sgemiwr a sgiliwr
magouiller to wheel and deal sgemio a sgilio
mettre son nez partout to have a finger in every pie bod gan fys ym mhob brŵes/cawl
se mêler partout to have a finger in many pies bod gan fys ym mhob brŵes/cawl

Waiter!

By Simon

When you’re in a restaurant or café, how do you get the attention of a waiter/waitress?

This cartoon shows how it can be difficult in France.

Garçon! Trying to get the waiter's attention

The customer in the cartoon first says “Please”, then “Sir/Mr”, then “Waiter”, then ‘Can I order?’, then a hour later the waiter finally speaks to him and says, “Sir, to stay here you must have something to eat or drink.”

What’s it like where you are? Are waiting staff in restaurants quick to respond to you, or do they go to great lengths to ignore you? What do you call waiting staff?

I’ve worked as a waiter and as a barman and know that at busy times it can be difficult to respond to everybody immediately, but I’ve never ignored anyone deliberately.

Image supplied by Frantastique, who can teach you how do you get the attention of a French waiter, and help you to learn French.

Awaken the Appetite

By Simon

A ragout is a highly seasoned meat and vegetable stew, and comes from the French ragoût, which appears to be a general word for stew.

Ragoût comes from the Middle French ragoûter (to awaken the appetite), which comes from the Old French re- (back), à (to) and goût (taste), from the Latin gustum (taste), from gustare (to taste, take a little of) from the Proto-Indo-Etymology *gus-tu-, a form of the root *geus- (to taste, choose), which is the root of the English word choose, and the German word kosten (to taste of) [source].

Les mots de la semaine

By Simon
français English Cymraeg
le ragoût; stew stiw; lobsgóws
(faire) mijoter; cuire en ragoût to stew stiwio; mud-ferwi
le ragoût de mouton Irish stew lobsgóws; cawl; pwt y berw
le pot-au-feu beef stew stiw eidion
le navarin d’agneau lamb stew stiw oen
le civet de cheveuil venison stew stiw fenswn/feneiswn
le ragoût de légumes vegetable stew stiw llysiau
ça m’a rien donner I have nothing to show for it nid oedd gennyf ddim i’w ddangos er
ça a fait tilt the penny dropped syrthiodd y geiniog
épeler to spell (aloud) sillafu
écrire; orthographier to spell (in writing) sillafu
la zone humide
la terre humide		 wetland tir gwlyb; cors; corstir; tir corsiog
la tourbière bog (wetland) cors
la tourbière peat bog mawnog; mawndir
la tourbe peat mawn
trotter to trot tuthio; trotian; trotio
trotteur trotter tuthiwr; trotiwr

Language learning lethargy

By Simon

Cat on dictionaries - an illustration of language learning lethargy

Are there times when you don’t feel like learning languages and can’t summon up much enthusiasm about them? When language learning lethargy strikes, in fact.

For me most of August this year was like that – I did use my languages when I had the chance, and spoke quite a bit of French and Welsh, and odd bits of Italian and Irish. I also listened to plenty of foreign language radio, as I often do. I didn’t go out of my way to find opportunities to practise my languages though, and didn’t study at all for almost the whole month. This is unusual for me.

Sometimes I think to myself, “You already speak five languages more or less fluently, and know quite a few others to varying degrees. Isn’t that enough?”, and my usual answer is “No, I want to learn more!”. Recently however, my motivation to learn more has been low and my answer was “Yes, that’s enough for now.”

This month I am re-starting my studies with Czech, and am planning to start dabbling with other languages as well. Yesterday my Teach Yourself Swedish course finally arrived – the one I got for free after attending the Polyglot Gathering in Berlin in May. So I will be learning more Swedish before long.

If you come down with language learning lethargy from time to time, how do you deal with it?

Frantastique

By Simon

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No holds barred

By Simon

I came across the phrase no holds barred today and wondered where it came from. I probably have seen it written down before, but didn’t pay any particular attention to it and thought it was written no holes barred.

According The Phrase Finder, this phrase comes from wrestling and refers to wrestling matches in which the normal rules are suspended – that is any hold is allowed, and no holds are barred. It first appeared in print in around 1892. Before then wrestling matches were not subject to any rules and there was no need for such a phrase.

Related phrases include anything goes and carte blanche. Can you think of any others?

The phrase carte blanche comes from French, originally meant a military surrender, and was first written in 1707 [source].

Are there phrases with a similar meaning in other languages?

Put the kettle on!

By Simon

No kettles!

I discovered last night that although there is a French word for kettle – bouilloire – kettles are not common in French kitchens. More or less every kitchen in the UK, and Ireland, has a kettle, and a toaster (grille-pain) – they are considered essential equipment. However, according to a friend who used to live in France, French kitchens generally don’t have kettles, or toasters. Teapots are probably rare as well.

Is this true? What other things are normally found in kitchens where you live?

So even though there may be a word for something in another language, it might not be commonly-used (either the word or the thing it describes).

Here’s a tune I wrote called The Kettle / Y Tecell: