CHAPTER 2
French language
French naturellement
The French language is regulated by the Académie Française to prevent any non-French words from creeping into the True French Language. If in doubt a New French Word will be created, for example a Walkman (a trade name) became a Balladeur. Unfortunately for the Académie, many words are in common use, that are not of French origin: weekend; sandwich; parking; stop (stopper = to stop!); star; TOP-50 and OK, Jeep, jerrican, and nearly all names of sports except pétanque or boules.
The French language has the sounds of e’s and i’s swopped with respect to standard English, y = i grecque (greek i) A French e is an English “erh’ and a French i is a short e. The biggest difficulty for an English-only-speaking foreigner is
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Wordplay
K7 = cassette (eg audio or video) much akin to the English K9 (any Doctor
Who fans?)
Words to watch for
Several words in English have different meanings in French, and if you are not careful you can cause yourself severe embarrassment.
Preservatif in French is a condom, so don’t ask if your salad has any preservatives in it . . .
Be careful if you are discussing your kitchen cabinets with your French friends, they will wonder why you have a toilet/ W.C. in your kitchen!
If you like beet juice, beware of asking for a jus de beet. La bite (sounding as “” la beet) is a certain part of the male anatomy . . . (although why it should be a feminine word I do not know . . . .) Also, if you like computers, be careful how you ask for Byte magazine at small, seedy kiosks for the same reason.
Watch out also if you think someone is an idiot, never say so to the person.
Idiot in French has a very much stronger meaning, almost offensive in nature, unlike in English where it is often said in jest. I only found this out after seeing a reservation card in a car hire office for a Mr I. Diot. I found