Tag Archives: language

New Rules for Sex in France

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Sex permeates French society, including the language. All nouns have genders—either masculine or feminine—though it’s sometimes unclear why a word is one or the other. Chemise (shirt) is feminine, for example, while chemisier (blouse) is masculine. Go figure.

And just when you think you’ve figured out the gender rules, somebody goes and changes them. That somebody is the Académie française, the arbiter of all things having to do with the French language. And the new rules they just announced are such a big change that some consider them “true barbarism.”

Only in France!

Read all about it at Frenchly!

The Interrogation

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In the old days in the US, doctors were kind of like gods–Me Important Doctor, you lowly patient, that sort of thing. You certainly didn’t ask questions or share what you learned on the Internet. It’s still like that in France. So imagine visiting a French doctor and being interrogated…in French. It happened to me, with a surprising result.

You can read all about it at Perfectly Provence.

Never Argue With Your French Teacher

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My wife Val and I live in California but spend several months every year in St-Rémy-de-Provence. When we first started doing this some years ago, Val spoke basic French and I spoke next to none. So we each took classes in the US to improve our French and then, after a few years of this, started private lessons in Provence with a professor named Geneviève.

I was nervous about starting a weekly class of just Val and me. On the one hand, it would really help me improve because I’d get lots of attention from the professor. On the other hand, Val’s been studying the language a lot longer than me and all that attention would make abundantly clear how much better she is. But part of learning any language is accepting occasional (or in my case, frequent) humiliation so I’ve resigned myself to it.

The first time we had a class with Geneviève, she pulled a book off a shelf and asked us to each read a few paragraphs to test our pronunciation.

We failed.

I knew we were in trouble as soon as Val started. As she spoke, Geneviève began writing notes on a pad of paper. After a few sentences, she started grinning. Then she started giggling. When it was my turn she put down her pen and started laughing out loud and wiping her eyes.

You can read the rest of the story at Perfectly Provence. It is adapted from my new book Are We French Yet?

The 6 Stages of Becoming French

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Admit it, you want to be French. Or at least be able to pass yourself off as French, like a spy who fools everyone with her secret identity. What a dream it is to speak perfect French, be stylish and sexy, and actually know what postmodernism means.

But to do that you have to pass through the different stages of Frenchness, slowly graduating from one to the next. Let’s take a look at these stages as they occur in France.

Real the rest of the article at Frenchly!

13 French Expressions That’ll Make You Sound Like You’re from Provence

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Every country has expressions that are confusing to foreigners. For example, if you told a French person “that’s in the ballpark,” they would wonder why you were talking about a sports stadium.

So what does it mean when a French person says “Il est fada“? Not every French person could tell you, because that expression comes from Provence. I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite Provençal expressions.

Read all about them at Frenchly.

French People Are Like Coconuts

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Imagine this: The PTSA meeting hasn’t started yet and two parents in the audience are chatting away—about their kids, their vacations, the hot new movie in theatres. After a few minutes, one puts out her hand and says, “Oh, by the way, my name’s Jessica.”

In the US, a scene like this—two strangers talking like old friends—wouldn’t be surprising. But would it happen in France? Pas du tout! In France, it’s considered weird to just start talking with someone you don’t know. And if a stranger tried to chat with them, a French person’s first thought would be a suspicious “What do they want from me?”

Learn how to bridge the cultural gap between French and Americans at Frenchly.

You Speak French and You Don’t Even Know It!

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“Let’s get a table in the front part of the restaurant. We can watch television and look at the menu while we wait for my cousin.”

Table, part, restaurant, television, menu, and cousin — those are all French words, even spelled the same way as in French. And if you order salad and onion soup, that’s three more (salade, oignon, soupe). You’re speaking French!

As much as half of the English language comes from French. Even Queen Elizabeth’s royal coat of arms is in French! Read all about it at Frenchly.

French Baby Names: Chloé oui, Nutella non

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Americans can call their children practically anything they want. Beyoncé’s daughter is named Blue Ivy. Frank Zappa’s kids are Moon Unit and Dweezil. And unusual names are not just for the offspring of celebrities—people have actually named their kids Cheese, Fairy, and Jag.

This is not the case in France, where courts can reject a name if it is not in the best interest of the child. So can a French couple call their child Manhattan? How about Mini Cooper? Or Nutella? Non, non, and non. French courts have rejected those names and more.

Read all about the long history of French baby-naming laws at Frenchly.

Provence Starter Kit

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Thinking of visiting Provence, the land of glorious lavender fields and charming hilltop villages?  Good for you!

But planning a trip to a new destination can be challenging. Where do you begin?

What you need is a Provence Starter Kit!  And here it is.

A Week in Provence

Provence has so much to see and do that you can be overwhelmed with choices. I’ve put together a one-week itinerary that hits many of the top spots. It allows you to stay in one town the entire time, rather than moving from place to place. You can savor Provençal life in lovely St.-Rémy-de-Provence while taking short trips to enjoy the wide range of what Provence has to offer. Here’s the link.

 

Favorite Restaurants

Want to try traditional Provençal dishes? Or maybe have a big, delicious salad for lunch? Perhaps you’d like something exotic, like Moroccan food. Peruse my list of favorite restaurants and pick whatever strikes your fancy. Here’s the link.

 

 

Informative Blogs

There are a number of excellent bloggers who cover all aspects of life in Provence – things to see, places to eat, special events that are going on, and more. These blogs give you a way to find out what’s going on in Provence from people who are in the know. I’ve put together a list of my favorites. Here’s the link.

 

Parlez-Vous Français ?

Even a little French can help you get around and connect with the locals. I’ve put together some of my favorite language websites. Here’s the link.  At a minimum, you should definitely put the Larousse dictionary app on your phone!