Testblog

My favorite European signs

Pschitt_1

The Pschitt website (warning, has sound)


Fuecker_bus_copy_at_150_2

Click to enlarge.

Fücker is a real bus company.



128ausfahrt_1

This one just always makes me laugh.


Gute_fahrt_2001

A major German auto magazine.


Crop_wormlandWormland: big chain. Really.


BinsackBinsack: Frankfurt jeweler


Salle_de_fartageSalle de fartage [wax room]


Toutes_directions_by_eneko123_on_flickr All directions!


Fucking_austriaA real town in Austria. The sign below says "Please- not so fast!"


Wankbahn_1The Wank is a "beloved travel goal" in the Alps. You get there on the Wankbahn.


Anus_d130_by_jenorme  Anus, France

November 08, 2006 in Language | Permalink | Comments (4)

That sinister word social

The word social always makes a frisson go up my spine when I hear it on the radio. It's up to no good.

action social = strike

plan social = mass layoff

logement social = housing project (also known as HLM-- pronounced AhshellEM)

conflit social = labor dispute

partenaires sociaux= the bosses (always referred to as le patronat) versus the workers, the government and the media

mouvement social =  labor protest, strike

acquis sociaux [plural]= the things we have fought for, e.g. the 35-hour work week; retiring at 55; six-week vacations; the near-impossibility of getting fired for rudeness or incompetence

June 09, 2006 in France, Language | Permalink | Comments (5)

My French vs English wordlist (on-going)

I love the French and English languages. They are an endless source of pleasure.

[Disclaimer: all these definitions and opinions are my own and cannot be considered authoritative. I realize that you can eventually explain any notion in any language--but not equally easily.]

  

French words with no real English equivalent

les acquis sociaux [means "the things that we have fought for: the 35-hour week, etc." ]

attentat   The French have a word for any kind of terrorist attack

cadre [someone who is not an ordinary employee, part of the elite; but it's fuzzy]

chômer, chômeur [to be unemployed, an unemployed person: but in French, it's somehow active]

dépaysement [the sensation of being in another country]

déroulement [unfolding, how things happen] 

doux [means so many things at once: sweet, tender, soft, gentle]

douleur [means so many things at once: pain, sorrow, grief, sadness, ache, heartache]

encadrer [to be surrounded and taken care of]

la fête, fêter  [we need a word like this in English. "Party" or "feast" are not the same.]

incontournable [something you can’t escape from or get around; not quite the same as inevitable]

le patronat [the class of bosses, as if they're separate from normal people; I find this concept very French]

le regard  It's not exactly a glance, it's a look, the expression on your face as you look; mainly going toward the looker, while English look is mostly from the looker. 

retrouvailles [meeting again after a long time, the happiness]

That sinister word social 

sortable [adjective for someone you can take places without being embarrassed]  

spectacle [a show of any kind]  

surenchère [one-upmanship, upping the ante, increasing your bid]

 

English words with no true French equivalent

block  [as in "Go two blocks"-- the French word is pâté de maisons, but the French never use it. Instead they say "two streets." In fact I don't know how they talk about a city without ever mentioning blocks!]

float  [as in a parade]  In French you call it a char, but as far as I'm concerned, that has way too many other meanings and calls up the wrong image.

friend     [Of course, the French have friends too. But a French ami/amie always has to have a sex, whereas we find it's often so convenient not to have to say.]

gentleman   [in French, seems to be more of a fashion statement than a personal quality.]

kick  [you have to say: "donner un coup de pied" which I find a bit long for a quick kick]

kind  [the French have to say “gentille” or “généreux”; the nuance of this being a deep character trait is missing]

mind  [all senses, from "I don't mind" to "have in mind" to "a beautiful mind"]

miss [as in "missing someone"; you have to say "Tu me manques" which means "You are lacking to me."]

remember  [you have to say je me souviens or je me rappelle, "I recall to myself"-- seems very long for such a basic action]

ride  [as in an amusement park; you have to say "attraction" but that can mean a stationary one]

neighborly   Hahahahah

rude   ["mal poli" does not translate the American sense: aggressively, deliberately impolite.]

tailgating   [as in a car. This is curious because almost all French drivers tailgate. Maybe it's like our not noticing gravity until Isaac Newton pointed it out.]

thorough  [you have to say profond or à fond] 

wonder  [in French you have to say, "I ask myself" to translate "I wonder," but it's not the same thing]

wrong  [you have to say "faux" or "mauvais" as in "the bad direction" instead of "the wrong way"; a nuance of wrongness is missing]


French expressions I find strange

je n’y suis pour rien [literally "I am not there for nothing":  "it’s not my fault"]

passer un savon à quelqu’un
  [literally "pass a soap to someone": scold someone]

tirer les vers du nez   [literally "pull the worms out of the nose": used as in English, "getting him to talk was like pulling teeth"; people actually say this]



French words I like/think sound funny

coup de barre

galipette

gueule


polisson


racaille, pagaille, canaille, gouaille, grisaille; chatouille, rouille, bouille

zozoter [the French have a word for lisp even though en principe they don't have a "th" sound!]

tentative d’attentat
  [attempted terrorist attack; say it out loud!]

trois

Vive le roi! 
[Try to say “roi ” and see if it sounds like a king!]


Common French expressions whose equivalent you don't hear much in English

en principe  ["in theory"; actually means "but in reality, probably not"]

mais puisque je vous le dis   ["but because I'm saying it to you"-- someone who often seems untrustworthy says this when you doubt what they are saying. ]

faut pas vous énerver!   ["(you) must not get annoyed!" Always said by annoying people when you object to their cutting in line/queue-barging]



Common English words and expressions whose equivalent you don't hear much in French

Sorry, but I didn't make the rules!

I don't buy that!

wasting time

April 19, 2006 in "Les Anglo-Saxons", France, Language | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBack (0)

Rue Rude (main weblog)

  • Rue Rude

Today's quotation

  • In Paris, the purest virtue is the object of the filthiest slander.

      –Honoré Balzac (1799-1850), in Scènes de la vie privée

    À Paris, la vertu la plus pure est l'objet des plus sales calomnies.

My Photo

About

Recent Posts

  • Lamartine: Loneliness
  • French teacher protests potential Harvardization of French universities
  • Commenter Yabreizh on finding that Paris CDG airport has been voted the worst in the world
  • Asbestos: Martine Aubry interrogated by gendarmes
  • Homage to Polly Platt
  • Sarko
  • Even Libération criticizes Paris Mayor Delanoë's traffic management
  • The French H-bomb, thanks to the English
  • Slice of life: German seniors discuss Halloween online
  • My favorite European signs
Subscribe to this blog's feed