Vrais amis

In the very first lesson of our Absolute Beginner 1 course, we introduce you to the idea of cognates: words shared between languages. English has more than 7 500 of these words from French, and c'est garanti* you'd use at least one a day (think 'garage', 'entrepreneur', 'ballet' 'finance' and 'au pair').

As your learning progresses, we also admit there is another phenomenon at play, that of 'faux amis', or false friends (one of our tutors, Josephine prefers to call them 'bad friends' and she's not wrong!) These are words that look like English words, but have a different meaning (attention!*: attendre, journée and préservatifs may not mean what you think they do). But let's focus on the positive and return to the vrais amis*, which offer what all good friendships do - help and support when you need it.

Take a couple of minutes to regarder la liste* which is helpfully categorised into useful adjectives, nouns and verbs.

Be sure to remind yourself that you're reading French as you run your eye down the list. It can be quite a mind-bending exercise. Bonne lecture*!

*it’s guaranteed | *Be careful! | *true friends/cognates | *look at the list | *Happy reading!

Harry’s Bar Paris

In a previous blog post, we gave the recipe for a French 75, a classic French cocktail whose effect on the imbiber was likened to a blow from a 75mm French canon. Savez-vous que* this cocktail was the creation of Le Harry's Bar in Paris? For us in the Anglophone world, the French 75 is likely the least known of the bar's original cocktail creations: the Bloody Mary, the Side Car and the Blue Lagoon all hail from the same adresse*, and the classic Italian Bellini was first served up at Harry's Bar in Venice.

So why is Harry's Bar so special? Well, for a start, the bar started life across the Atlantic in Manhattan, where, with prohibition approaching, the owner decided to dismantle and ship his beloved bar to Paris, piece by piece. Harry's soon became a deuxième chez soi* for American expats and its clubby feel and expert bartenders eventually drew non-French luminaries such as Ernest Hemingway, Humphrey Bogart, Aly Khan, Rita Hayworth and even the Duke of Windsor. And bien sûr*, when Coco Chanel is counted as a patron, you can be assured the bar has un charme certain*.

Located at 5, rue Daunou in the 2nd arrondissement, Harry’s needed a way to assure a steady stream of thirsty Americans. So in 1924, the bar's legendary Scottish manager, Harry Mac Elhone, placed the following ad in the Herald Tribune: « Just tell the taxi driver: Sank Roo Doe Noo and get ready for the worst! ». Intelligent, non*?

Indeed, a 16 year old James Bond uttered this very phrase in Ian Fleming's 1960 short story "From a View to a Kill", that .... "started one of the memorable evenings of his life, culminating in the loss, almost simultaneous, of his virginity and his notecase".

An interesting side note: since 1924, Harry's has conducted a straw poll amongst its American patrons prior to each presidential election, and have been wrong only on three occasions: 1976, 2004 and 2016. Je me demande* how they'll go in 2020?

*Did you know that | *address | home away from home | *of course | *a certain charm | *Clever, isn't it? | *I wonder

La cédille

Undoubtedly the cutest of the French accents, this little squiggle looks a lot like a number 5 without its lid and descends from the middle of the bottom of the letter 'c'. So what does it do? It changes a hard 'c' sound to a soft one.

French works very similarly to English when the letter 'c' is followed by a vowel.

The cedilla (or c cédille in French) changes a hard 'c' to a soft one. Even our most débutant* students will have seen this at work in 'ça va', which, if not for the accent, would sound like 'ka va'.

*beginner

Le Festival

There is no doubt about it. The team responsible for Le Festival really do not take non* for an answer.

As we all know, the arts has taken an absolute hammering during Covid and events are folding de tous les côtés*. But the organisers of the biggest French festival in Australia? Ils refusent*!

So what did they do? Firstly, instead of cancelling the event, they postponed it to October. Next, they launched a crowd-funding campaign to ensure that come October they were sufficiently financial to actually run the 10th édition* of the much-loved event. Not stopping there, they added a fantastic raffle as a way to promote their partners and raise additional funds.

Finally, a surprise announcement raised the bar in a major way. Le Festival Director, Betty Moinet, and her team, still wanting to celebrate La Fête nationale* with the people of Brisbane, have organised a series of free cultural conferences. The lineup has to be seen to be believed. There is something for absolutely everybody and you can sign up to as many sessions as you like. The amount of work that would have gone into organising this series of events is phenomenal and, under the current circumstances particularly, speaks volumes about the passion Betty and her team of volunteers bring to putting this event on for us, the French-loving public of Brisbane.

Let's support them by getting involved in any way we can. Allez!*

*no | *left and right | *They refuse! | *year | *Bastille Day | *Let's go!

Snippets of Paris

www.snippetsofparis.com

This is such a great little website! We came across it last month when we were doing some research for our story on Au Clair de la Lune* and earmarked it for further investigation this month and I am so glad we did. It is absolutely plein à craquer* with recipes, stories, etiquette tips, travel ideas, language anomalies and much, much more.

Written by Nassie, a Canadian ex-pat who discovered the French art de vivre* and never looked back, it is the perfect site to dip in and out of over a quiet weekend. The best thing about it? It's not a blog offering up the clichéd version of living in Paris, but a more considered and honest one, which is often much more interesting for true lovers of France and the French language.

As she writes:
Snippets of Paris aims to tell you what the locals tell their friends about, to go beyond the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower. We’ll share with you fun anecdotes about what daily life in France is like, so that you too can imagine yourself living here. Does Paris continue to hold its charm if you are living there, rather than just visiting? Do you ever become fluent in French? And raising kids in France!? Ooh là là!

Bonne lecture*!

*By the Light of the Moon | *full to bursting | * art of living | *Happy reading!

Coup

If you've been learning French for a little while, you may have come across the word 'coup'. Perhaps you've seen un coup de téléphone or un coup de fil (both used for phone call). Even before French came into your life, you were probably familiar with a coup d’état* (even if we Anglophones tend to pronounce it something like 'koo day tar' rather than the more sonorous way it should be said).

What you may not know, though, is that coup has a huge range of translations, from 'blow' or 'knock', to 'attack' or even 'drink' and all the way to Vulgarville with 'f*ck'. So, a multi-dimensional word at the very least!

Where it really comes into its own, though, is in les formes composées*

Jetez un œil!*

Everly Magazine

If you've been coming to Lingua Franca for a very long time (remember the Vroom days?), you may have had the good fortune of meeting a lovely young woman called Lesley Slade. In her typically understated way, Lesley came to us 'just to learn some French', which she did for two or three terms if my memory serves me correctly. The next thing we knew, Lesley had moved to Paris and vivait son rêve* working as a freelance journalist, speaking French, completing a writers residency in Champagne, teaching English in Paris, attending shows for Paris Fashion Week and... naturellement*... falling in love.

Fast forward seven years and Lesley is back living in Brisbane (now with her French-Tunisian husband) and has decided to launch herself yet again into the inconnu* (you really have to admire Lesley's dynamisme*) by starting her very own magazine.

Everly is a lifestyle magazine about style, fashion, travel, the arts, culture and inspiring human interest stories. There's a definite French flavour, which is of course inspired by her time in France.

Taking a look at the cover of Issue #1 and Everly’s Instagram account, it is immediately clear that Lesley speaks our language: the 2020 Chanel spring-summer collection, interviews with beloved Paris-based Australian photographer Carla Coulson and comedian Tim Minchin and a round-up of Aussie entrepreneurs taking the French coffee scene by storm. Quoi de mieux?*

If you'd like to go into the running to win one of three copies of Everly Issue 1, email us the name of a book by Carla Coulson. We’ll take the first three entries. 

Bonne chance*!

*was living the dream | *naturally | *unknown | *get up and go | *What could be better? | *Good luck!

Spotify Playlist

We always encourage our students who are en pause* with their French to stay in touch with it in some way. It's such a shame to completely lose contact with the language when life gets busy, so flicking through a French magazine, watching the French news, even cooking a French recipe are all great ways to garder la main*.

Some would suggest even buying French makeup is a way to stay in touch - a position I wholeheartedly endorse.

One of our students, Anna Vella, avocate* by day and I suspect part-time DJ by night, has put together this fantastic Spotify playlist, which is keeping her French on a slow burn as she takes a well-earned break from her studies.

Merci Anna et à bientôt, j'espère*.

Where do you find your French music?

It’s surprisingly everywhere. French radio apps are fantastic – but Spotify is also a great black hole to get lost in.

Are theRE any special memories attached to any of the songs on your playlist?

I was the prime demographic for Sex and the City when it was originally released. Re-watching the final episode, An American Girl in Paris (Part Deux) a few years ago contributed to my motivation to start learning French, and the MC Solar song “La Belle Et Le Bad Boy” is synonymous with that episode. On our very last gathering as part of last year’s Paris Summer School, I was swapping information with another student as to French songs we recommended or had discovered on the trip and that one came up (I tried to pretend that I hadn’t Shazamed it directly from the television….). It was an Australian Girl in Paris (Part Trois) moment for me.

Who is your all-time favourite French artist?

Daft Punk (and their spin-off Stardust) are pretty hard to go past. I feel like they were pioneers of the house/electronic/dance/synthpop sound in the early to mid-1990’s (and some of their “music videos” were wild). It was hard to go past Daft Punk, a $2 Fire Engine and a dance floor at the time. They have stayed on the scene and continue to chart. And I appreciate their sustained effort to dress like robots. Also, Petit Biscuit is a different speed but wonderful – he is only 20 and in 2018 he did a set at Coachella.

What is the song on the list that best represents France for you?

“Tout va bien” by Orelsan. I heard it in a taxi on the way home after a night out in Paris last year during the summer school – I was full of delicious food and wine and had been laughing all night and it was raining and I was giving directions in French and I was watching the muted city lights go past. It was magical. And the lyrics to that song make no sense. Je kiffe!

Go to track when I'm…

Sad: Night Trouble, Petit Biscuit

Tired: La Fin Du Monde, Ludo Pin Facing

Getting up on a Monday morning: 40%, Aya Nakamura

In need of motivation: Da Funk, Daft Punk

*taking a break | *keep your hand in | *lawyer | *Thank you, Anna, and see you soon, I hope

L'accent circonflexe

Savez-vous que* the circumflex accent in French was originally a combination of the acute and grave accents? Neither did we until very recently and though its effect on pronunciation these days is fairly negligible, it can be a real help in working out the meaning of the word it appears in. Regardez* the video below for a fuller explanation.

*Did you know that... | *Watch

French 75

Tiring of the (now) ubiquitous quarantini? Feel like expanding your cocktail répertoire* without expending too much effort? Enter the French 75, a classic cocktail français* invented by Harry MacElhone from Harry's New York Bar de Paris who named his creation after a 75mm French canon, a blast from which he believed produced a similar effect.

*list | *French

L'accent grave

Katrina explains the effect of the accent grave* on pronunciation. If you think of it making the sound of the letter 'e' in the English words 'bed' or 'egg' you'll be very close indeed.

*grave accent.

Au Clair de la Lune

We’re sure most of you are familiar with the French Song “Au Clair de la Lune*” but did it ever cross your mind that it might be a bit risqué*? It certainly did not to us, until we were tipped off by a curious student, Martha, who set herself the seemingly innocent challenge of translating this French comptine*. So what did she find? Well, it all starts out fairly innocently, with talk of quills, candles and the love of God, but by the third verse, things have taken a sexier turn (or do we just have dirty minds au nid*?).

See what you think by checking out the video, which seems to play on the faux* innocence of the words. Again, we could just be seeing this through a slightly perverted lens, mais sérieusement*, the God of Love wants to enter your cabin??? À vous de décider*.

"Au clair de la lune,
Mon ami Pierrot,
Prête-moi ta plume
Pour écrire un mot.
Ma chandelle est morte,
Je n'ai plus de feu.
Ouvre-moi ta porte
Pour l'amour de Dieu."

Au clair de la lune,
Pierrot répondit :
"Je n'ai pas de plume,
Je suis dans mon lit.
Va chez la voisine,
Je crois qu'elle y est,
Car dans sa cuisine
On bat le briquet."

Au clair de la lune,
L'aimable Lubin;
Frappe chez la brune,
Elle répond soudain :
–Qui frappe de la sorte?
Il dit à son tour :
–Ouvrez votre porte,
Pour le Dieu d'Amour.

Au clair de la lune,
On n'y voit qu'un peu.
On chercha la plume,
On chercha du feu.
En cherchant d'la sorte,
Je n'sais c'qu'on trouva;
Mais je sais qu'la porte
Sur eux se ferma.

"By the light of the moon,
My friend Pierrot,
Lend me your quill
To write a word.
My candle is dead,
I have no light left.
Open your door for me
For the love of God."

By the light of the moon,
Pierrot replied:
"I don't have any pens,
I am in my bed
Go to the neighbor's,
I think she's there
Because in her kitchen
Someone is lighting the fire."

By the light of the moon
Likeable Lubin
Knocks on the brunette's door.
She suddenly responds:
– Who's knocking like that?
He then replies:
– Open your door
for the God of Love!

By the light of the moon
One could barely see.
The pen was looked for,
The light was looked for.
With all that looking
I don't know what was found,
But I do know that the door
Shut itself on them.

*By the light of the moon | *risqué | *nursery rhyme | *at the nest | *false | *but seriously | *Over to you to decide

Museums of Paris

Though our travel options may be a bit limitées* at the moment, no-one can stop us from dreaming…or planning.

When Lingua Franca held our first Paris Summer School in 2019, we were absolutely blessed to have poet, translator and amateur historian Gilles Mourier as one of our tutors for the week. Gilles’ knowledge of French culture is virtually boundless, but he also has the knack of breaking down complex information into manageable (and very useful) chunks.

Take, for example, his simple way of distinguishing between three of the most famous musées* of Paris: Le Louvre, Le Musée d’Orsay et Le Centre Pompidou. It is tellement* simple and will be very useful to you in planning your dream itinéraire*.

N’OUBLIEZ PAS*: entry to many Parisian museums is free on the first Sunday of the month. Go here to dream (en français* or in English): https://www.parisinfo.com/decouvrir-paris/guides-thematiques/paris-gratuit/musees-et-monuments-gratuits-a-paris/les-musees-et-monuments-gratuits-a-paris

*limited | *museums | *so | *itinerary | *Don’t forget | *in French

Le Coronavirus et La Covid-19

The Académie française* is the guardian of the French language. Not known for their vitesse* (the 9th edition of their gold-standard dictionary was started last century and they're still only up to the letter 's'), in the age of Coronavirus, they have shown an extraordinarily short response time to deciding the gender of the illness.

This article appeared in Moncole Magazine and was passed on to us by the lovely Xavier Amouroux, whom many of you know. Merci, Xav*!

*The French Academy (esteemed body who looks after the integrity of the French language) | *speed | *Thanks, Xav!

Society / France
Deadlier than the male

It was only a matter of time before the authorities got involved. In France, the masculine le Covid-19 has crept into daily use in conversation and the media, angering Francophone linguists in the process. Thankfully, the Académie Française has put a stop to it, ruling that the virus is, in fact, feminine. The Académie goes into impressive detail in laying out its reasoning behind the change from le to the feminine la, primarily using precedents from other acronyms, which are the gender of their core word. State-owned railway firm SNCF (the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer), for example, is feminine because of la Société. After citing everything from Latin to English, the Académie found the core of Covid-19 to be la maladie (illness). Such a simple explanation begs the question: how did this error make it into French conversation in the first place? Well, that’s because le coronavirus (which refers to the family of viruses rather than Covid-19 specifically) remains masculine. And that isn’t confusing at all...

Tout comme des grands

What a fantastic opportunity! Our Parisian friends, Tout Comme des Grands*, traditionally run ateliers for children at fresh food markets aroud the city. With les enfants* artfully engaged, their parents are free to roam the markets, poring over the incredible range and quality of the produce en paix*.

Since these very markets are now closed, Marine and her team have had to make some quick decisions, and one in particular is of huge benefit to those of us in the Southern Hemisphere. Until the end of June, Tout Comme des Grands is offering free craft sessions via Zoom. Imagine! Your child could busy themselves doing un petit projet* with French children after dinner, giving you time to kick back for a moment to catch your breath. Take a look at their website to see what they do, then follow them on social media to keep up with the latest classes on offer, and be sure to aim for an early time slot in Paris as this will be just after dinner here in Australia.

Bon courage les enfants*!

*Just like the big kids | *the children | *in peace | *a little project | *Good luck, kids!

F is for France

If you're looking for something light and super intéressant* to read at the moment, one of our students recommended F is for French by Piu Eatwell to us, and we're so glad she did (merci*, Sue!). Divided into alphabetised chapters, it covers the big issues, par exemple*:

A is for Absinthe
F is for Fashion
H is for Hashish

and, of course

D is for Death

Learn all about...

• the "Paris Syndrome" and why it is the reason for the hospitalisation of dozens of Japanese tourists each year,

• what the Eiffel Tower and Margaret Thatcher have in common, and

• Dominique Bouhours, the famed French grammarian whose final words were: "I am about to - or I am going to - die: either expression is correct."

Poor Dominique. Are we sure he didn't bore himself to death?

A great read for times like these. Bonne lecture*!

*really interesting | *thank you | *for example | *Happy reading! 

Les essentiels

Ne quittez pas la maison* without learning these extremely useful words. Not sure of the meaning of one or two? We couldn’t live without www.wordreference.com here at Lingua Franca. It is always the first tab I open in the morning on my computer and in ten years, I could count on one hand the number of times it has not had a word I was looking for.

*Do not leave home

French fashion

“ La mode se démode, le style jamais*. ”

Coco Chanel, French fashion designer (1883 - 1971)

Paradoxically, though Louis XIV was a renowned lover of fashion, the very first maison de couture* was opened by an Englishman, Charles Frederick Worth, in Paris in 1858. He took what was hitherto regarded as a menial business (dressmaking) and elevated it to the perfect confluence of commerce and art.

However, it's the French designers who have produced some of the most avant-gardiste*, iconic and franchement* sublime creations the world has ever seen.

Put your knowledge of la mode* to the test by telling us which brilliant designer is responsible for each of the looks below. The first person to send in the correct answers will win a copy of French Vogue!

*Fashion goes out of style, style never. | *High fashion house | *avant-garde | *frankly | *fashion

Wine rules

If you've found yourself doing more home cooking recently, it might be an idea to look to the French concept of food and wine matching for some classic guidelines.

Balance is very important to the French, in all areas of life. This fact, coupled with their passion for good food and wine makes it logical that they would make an art form of balancing what they eat and drink.

In French, matching food and wine is called assortir les vins au menu. For a subject that can seem overwhelming for the amateur, the good news is that the basic tenets are really quite logical. Voici* some useful rules of thumb.

If you’re interested in a bit more nuance, try to follow the following ideas:

• A dry white wine is a good match for fresh seafood, a fuller-bodied white if the seafood is served hot, and a medium or even sweet white if the seafood is served with a sauce.

• Try to match the intensity of the meal with the wine. That is, a rich steak marries well with a full-bodied red wine, whereas scallops would benefit a more delicate white.

• Lastly, where possible, use wines from the same region as the dish. When all elements come from the same terroir,* the likelihood of a successful marriage is naturally higher.

Bon appétit!*

*Here are | *the unique combination of climate, soil and topography of a particular area | *Enjoy your meal!

Digital ‘coups de cœur’

We took a straw poll recently here at Lingua Franca to find about the team’s coups de cœur* in the world of digital platforms, whether they were des sites web*, des applis* or des podcasts*, and here are the results.

Remember, there is always value in taking a look at a wide range of media when you're learning French. Even if you don't think you understand much at all, you will pick up the odd word or phrase here and there and equally importantly, you'll be getting un petit aperçu* of true contemporary French culture.

*crushes | *websites | *apps | *podcasts | *glimpse

Ressource Peintures

Katrina

"C'est un bon compte Insta juste pour zapper et se détendre"

"This is a great Insta page to use to just relax your brain"

Marie Claire - Idées

Josephine

"Vu que je fais une tonne d'arts manuels, de la couture et du bricolage, je suis souvent sur ce site à chercher de nouvelles idées."

"Since I do a LOT of craft, sewing and DIY, I'm often on this site looking for new ideas"

Une souris dans mon dressing

Caroline

"Je suis le blog d'une femme créative et que je trouve très amusante : "une souris dans mon dressing". Voici sa page Instagram."

"I follow the blog of a female creative who I find very funny: "a mouse in my wardrobe"" Here is her Instagram page.

Marmiton

David

"Aimant cuisiner et pâtissier j'utilise très souvent le site Marmiton."

"Since I love cooking and baking, I often use the Marmiton site.

Nouvelles Écoutes

Fiona

"J’écoute beaucoup de podcasts et celui-là est mon préféré car il donne la parole à des femmes inspirantes."

"I listen to lots of podcasts and this is my favourite because it highlights inspiring women."

TED Talks - French

Deborah

“J’aime avoir la possibilité de filtrer les vidéos par langue et regarder des TED Talks en français.”

”I like being able to filter videos by language and watch TED Talks in French.”