LKL’s Blog

I finally finished a huge, far too time-consuming project: a sort of calendar of the history of French-speaking countries, with holidays and celebrations, famous people’s birthdays and deaths, and other events and milestones in the world of francophonie. I’d had the project in mind for a long time, and I knew it would take a lot of work, but the reality was far worse than I’d imagined. Still, it’s done and I think it’s a fairly cool feature - I hope you do too: Today in Francophone History

So the big news in the French press is about the word bravitude used by presidential hopeful Ségolène Royal. Critics are comparing it to Bushisms like “misunderestimate,” but Ms. Royal says that it wasn’t a mistake - she coined the word because the word bravoure just wasn’t strong enough for the Chinese proverb she was translating. It’s an interesting question - what’s the difference between using a word that doesn’t exist because you don’t know any better and using one that doesn’t exist, but (maybe) should?

As part of an initiative to encourage British tourism in Paris, French gestures have been “revealed,” for what you would think was the first time ever (learn more). It seems practically every online newspaper has an article about this “guide to understanding Parisians,” and I can only laugh when I check the publication date on my photo gallery of French gestures: February 2001. Not to mention the fact that I have a lot more than 8.

Calling all French lovers - you have to read The Story of French. I can’t imagine the kind of dedication it must take to write such an informative and interesting book, but I’m definitely grateful to the people that did it. It’s a reference book on my favorite subject that reads more like a novel - I enjoyed it immensely.
The Story of French review

It turns out I probably don’t have strep throat since I have developed laryngitis, and the two do not normally go together. Laryngitis is a funny thing - my voice was scratchy on Friday, completely gone yesterday, and is very hoarse today - which I guess means it’s getting better, but I still feel awful. Here are some interesting things I’ve discovered about laryngitis:

• When you whisper, kids will whisper back
• I shouldn’t even be whispering, as according to the Mayo Clinic, whispering puts more of a strain on the vocal cords than talking
• My French R is completely unaffected

Time to drink my 4,391st cup of tea.

Ségolène Royal won the Socialist party nomination yesterday, making her an official candidate for the French presidential elections, the first round of which will be held in April. If elected, Ms. Royal would be the first female French president.

La Guinguette: Ségolène Royal - Présidente ?

The Age: Populist “Sego” gets Royal assent from France’s left

My favorite French radio station is Le Mouv’. I started listening to it when I lived in Toulouse, and before I left I managed to find it on the internet. It’s a fairly good mix of music, mainly alternative rock (which they call indé, an apocope of indépendant), about half in French and half in English, with the occasional song in another language. Unfortunately, the connection can be a bit spotty.

I tend to put Le Mouv’ on in the morning while doing a mots fléchés, which I’ve become addicted to - I have to do one every morning - and then keep listening while doing non-work stuff.

According to a Mexican friend of mine, murciélago (bat) is the only Spanish word with all five vowels.

In English, we have facetiously, which has all 5½ vowels (y is the half) in alphabetical order. I also like the words vacuum and aardvark for the unusual double vowels.

The coolest may be the French word jouaient (third person plural imperfect of jouer - to play), which has all five vowels in a row! And créée (the feminine past participle of créer - to create) with its triple E.

Any other vowel-laden words?

Reading the menu in a French restaurant can be a little tricky, and not just due to language difficulties. There may be important differences between restaurants in France and in your own country, including what food is offered and how it is prepared. Here are some terms and tips to help you read a French menu.

We all knew that Zidane’s head butt during the World Cup Final would go down in history, but did you ever think about the marketing aspects? A French song parodying the event is breaking records (ha ha) in France, and there are several ringtones you can purchase too, all from La Plage Records

I’m not going to translate the whole song, but here’s the chorus:

Zidane il l’a frappé, Zidane il l’a tapé (Coup de boule!)
Zidane he hit him, Zidane he slapped him (Head butt!)