Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Frustrating Artist

The Artist.
French.
Oscars.
But Silent.

What could be more frustrating for a French learner?

Monday, February 27, 2012

Transition

You know you have transited from being a beginner to a intermediate learner when you stop using the French – English dictionary and start using the French – French dictionary instead. And it feels good when that happens.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Or, the False Friend

French, like many other European Languages, has a fair share of faux amis [hear], meaning false friends. A classic example, of course, is Librairie [hear], which is not a library but a book store, and lit [hear], which is not the past tense of light but bed. There is a whole range of these, but the one that occurs most frequently and causes me to do a double take is the tiniest of all faux amis, or [hear]. It could mean ‘gold’ or – the one that occurs more frequently in text and gives me maximum headache – means ‘however’, ‘but’, etc. Every time I encounter this tiny word, my English educated mind almost always defaults to ‘either … or’ kind of translation.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Oh là là

No, this is not the song from Dirty Pictures … that goes Oo la la. Of course, you knew that! Oh là là could mean a variety of things but most common it is used to express surprise. Such as, Oh là là! C’est incroyable! (= Oh dear! It is amazing!) [Hear Oh là là, incroyable]

But did you know that Oh là là has a cousin in the form of Ah là là? This little variation expresses frustration; when you sort of give up and resign to what fate has in store for you, in a nice sort of way though. Like when you say, “Oh well!”
So be careful how you pucker up when you say Oh là là.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Talking Grammar

I don’t think I can praise the site Language Guide enough. In a previous post I had mentioned about the readings of Guy de Maupassant short stories. I do not know how many among you actually went to the site and explored it. If you have then you would know that they have an excellent coverage of the French Grammar. Not only is the grammar well presented, you can also listen to every example sentence used. You may listen to all the text in one go. Or, if you are not too sure of any particular statement, just place your cursor on that text and listen to it. Brilliant! Just brilliant!

By the way, their Vocabulary Section also works pretty much the same. It has an added aid to drill the words into your memory – images combined with sound. Try this one out. You won't regret it.

Language, the Gateway to Culture

Learning French has been rewarding in more ways than one. I hope all that learning strange (strange, as in ‘stranger’, not ‘weird’) words with strange accents (which I getting to like more and more) is activating the right side of my brain – not that I see any major breakthrough. But more than that, there are these tiny cultural aspects that I get to know in the process that makes language learning so much fun..

Take this for instance. When do you eat your salads? Before the main course! Of course you do. In Indian restaurants, they place a platter of raw onions even before you order for food. And if you order, salad will be served before the food. I eat my salad before, during and after the meal, depending on how much is served. Eating salad before food might be good for dieting, but, if you think about it, you get to eat less of what you actually like, the main course. By that logic some may demand the desserts first. But I am digressing. Back to the cultural point…

In France, traditionally, the order of food is as follows: appetizers/starters (les hors d'oeuvre [hear]/ les entrées [hear]), main course (le plat principal [hear]), lettuce (la laitue [hear]), cheese (le fromage [hear]) and/or desserts (les desserts [hear]). It is almost like lettuce is used to wipe off the traces of the main dish before gorging on the desserts.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Free Flash Cards for Learning French Verbs

Here’s another free online site that teaches you French: Learn A Language.

Now, I do realize that my blog is becoming a sort of lists of free online French learning site, but then the intention is to share with you what I discover. In any case, all the sites have something unique to offer – that guarantees you that you will never become bored learning French.

So what is different about this site? Flash cards! You can learn as many as 350 French Verbs using flash cards. And there is a small game (called Lingo Dingo - a fairly unsophisticated name, if you ask me) associated with each set of verbs that makes you write the verbs that you have just learnt (there are 4 levels which makes you write faster and faster.) Try it out.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Stories by Guy de Maupassant

How would you like someone to read out a story for you? Well here’s a wonderful site for learning French and listening to (and simultaneously reading) French stories: Language Guide Français.

The site has three sections: French Vocabulary, French Grammar, and French Readings. It is the French Readings that interests me most. There are four Guy de Maupassant [hear] short stories narrated by – from the sound of it - native French speakers. This site is worth a visit just for that.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Have a blast

The selection of the Dassault’s Rafale for direct talks for induction into the Indian Air Force as the medium multi-role combat aircraft gives us one more opportunity to learn a new French word.

Rafale in French means gust or blast, and is generally associated with the phrase rafale de vent (= gust of wind). [Hear Dassault Rafale, vent]

I am sure the engineers at Dassault are celebrating. Have a blast!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Different, Not Better

The T-Shirt that I am wearing today quotes Jean-Jacques Rousseau: “If I am not better, at least I am different.” That in French would be: « Si je ne suis pas mieux, au moins je suis différent. » [Hear mieuxmoinsdifférent]

I think this is the best lesson a parent can give to the child, a teacher can give to the students and an individual can give to him/herself.

Perhaps, someday someone will say the same about this blog. :)

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Indian Names and French Accents

The name Anil Kumble always foxes me. We know how to pronounce his name the way he wants because he is famous. But cricket, unlike football, is not played all around the world. The Americans, for instance, or even the French will have difficulty in getting his name correct the first time. Here’s where the French Accents are so useful. All Kumble needs to do is to spell surname as Kumblé, and the pronunciation will be just right. Getting the world to accept Devanagri scripts is near impossible. The best we Indians can do to ensure our names are pronounced right is to adopt the French Accents.

By the way, ever wondered how Tintin is pronounced in French. Here listen. I bet you never guessed.

Friday, February 10, 2012

French Words of Exclamations!

Here’s an interesting list of French words that represent sounds.

Aïe!(hear) - Ouch !
Clac! – Clack ! or Bang!
Plouf! – Splash!
Boum! (hear) – Boom!
Chut! (hear) – Shhh!
Pan! – Bang! (from a gun fire)

Will add to the list as I find more.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

You Already Know French

Grand (hear)
Commence (hear)
Bizarre (hear)
Souvenir (hear)
Impossible (hear)
Continue (hear)
Regard (hear)
Attention (hear)
Secret (hear)
Situation (hear)
Courage (hear)
Action (hear)
Instant (hear)
Certain (hear)
Impression (hear)

Did you say, “I don’t know French” ? Each of the above is a French word. With a French accent of course! That should catch your attention and give you enough courage to commence action this very instant.

Click on the (hear) next to the words to listen to the words being spoken in French.
Have fun!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Is your French better than a School Student?

Do you wish to test your knowledge of French? So what if you have just started learning? Or perhaps you are learning for some time now and you wish to know if you are better than Secondary School kids? Then this is the place to be.

Visit the BBC GCSE Bitsize French website for reviewing your knowledge and taking 5-minute (or less) on-line tests. And then there are games to enhance your French skills. It is called Destination Death. Cool!

I discovered this site just yesterday when I was not even looking. Talk of serendipity.