Posted by Chanda
I’ve said before…I LOVE GAMES! Games are one of the best ways to learn another language as they are often competitive which makes you want to do an even better job and you learn without realizing you are learning, which is quite important. When looking to purchase the game, I’ve seen it categorized as un jeu de société (board game) as well as un jeu de lettres (word game) and it is both, but it can also be un jeu en ligne (online game). So, I am proposing that we start our own Scattegories game with the readers of this blog as the contestants. You’ll get points for all the words that you propose that have not been proposed by any other contestant in each round. I’ll be the judge as far as whether or not the words actually fit the corresponding categories and I’ll keep track of the points with my own comments. I think we should shoot for five rounds to begin with to see how much interest you all have in participating and the person with the most points will be crowned Le Roi ou La Reine de Scattegories en Français!
Règles
Je vous donne dix catégories et une lettre. Vous devez répondre avec un mot qui commence avec cette lettre. Évidement, vous ne devez pas répondre le même que les autres et il faut être créatif. Bonne chance!
Lettre: D
Catégories:
1. petit déjeuner
2. mode
3. cinéma
4. mer
5. famille
6. animal
7. pays
8. fruit/légume
9. couleur
10. jour
As a side note, you can order a bilingual version of the real Parkers Brothers Scattergories Le Jeu at Toys R Us Canada, for example.
Posted by Chanda
I broke my husband’s iPhone yesterday and no, he was not content. And just like many other people in today’s society, I decided to share this event with all of my friends on Facebook. About an hour later, one of my French friends responded with “Tu as des mains à faire des mottes!” and to be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, so I did some investigating. And it turns out that ‘avoir des mains à faire des mottes’ is an expression from the Languedoc region where Montpellier is located and where my friend is from. Well, ‘motte’ can mean ‘a clod of earth’ or ’slab of butter’. So, it looks as though in this case it is referring to the slab of butter and my friend is referring to the fact that my hands are slippery perhaps. Maybe a native French reader out there could help me out with this one by leaving a comment…???
In any case, this Facebook comment got me thinking about expressions again because after all, they are quite fun. So, today I’ll give you some more expressions with ‘avoir’.
| avoir le pot près des talons |
to be short |
| avoir du pot |
to be lucky |
| avoir le cul bordé de nouilles |
to be very lucky |
| avoir le nez creux |
to have flair |
| avoir les dents longues |
to be very ambitious |
| avoir une araignée au plafond |
to be a bit crazy, but not so much that you are dangerous or bothersome |
| avoir un polichinelle dans le tiroir |
to be pregnant |
| avoir un cœur d’artichaut |
to easily and often fall in love |
| avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre |
to ask for more food than you can eat |
| avoir un nom à coucher dehors |
to have a name that is difficult to pronounce or remember |
And now, j’ai un poil dans la main (I’m feeling lazy), so I’m going to end this article now. I hope you enjoyed it!
Posted by Chanda
While I was studying in Paris, I went home with a friend for a weekend to Montpellier and it was really a beautiful city. Montpellier is located in the south of France on the Mediterranean coast and is the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. Its name refers to the fact that it sits up on hilly ground. The hills make for beautiful pictures of the city from different altitudes. It is not a huge city (approx. 300,000 residents), but that’s probably part of what makes it so appealing. It is a popular destination for language programs and exchange students perhaps because of the openness of the locals, the fact that one out of every two residents are under 35 and also because its University is one of the oldest in the world.
When I visited, the city was undergoing several infrastructure projects including the tramway, which is now in full operation and makes it much easier to get around. There are many things to do in and around Montpellier besides enjoying the beautiful beaches. You can tour the University, Saint-Pierre Cathedral, huge centuries-old private mansions that were built by noblemen, the Arc de Triomphe (which is quite similar to the one in Paris), a 13th century Jewish bath, the Montpellier follies (castles) and violin workshops as it is the violin-making capital of the world. My two favorites are the squares - the Peyrou royal square and la Place de la Comédie which is the city’s egg-shaped main square featuring a magnificent Opera house and one of the largest pedestrian areas in Europe. The official website of the Montpellier Tourist Office can be found here in English and French. There you can get more information on what the city has to offer and book hotels and vacation stays.
Right now and until July 4th, it is hosting the International Dance Festival during which over 300 dance troupes from around the world put on 3-10 shows daily. Later in July, it will host the Radio France and Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon Festival when it will be the site of over a hundred concerts featuring all genres of music. There are more than a dozen museums to take in around the city and around the same number of large parks, including the Botanical Garden, which is one of the oldest in Europe. The city’s restaurants offer excellent food and wines. Montpellier can also be your base for touring several World Heritage sites including le Canal du Midi, the Roman aqueduct Pont du Gard and the medieval city of Carcassonne.
Finally, it is interesting to note that many cities around the world have been named after Montpellier, including the capital city of Vermont in honor of the French, who were very highly regarded in the United States after the American Revolutionary War because of their assistance in the struggle against the British for independence.
Posted by Chanda
French argot (slang) can be difficult to understand, but it’s really quite fun. So, today, we’ll talk about some expressions involving food that don’t have so much to do with food really, but might be useful to know. For example, if you want to say that you are a bit down in the dumps, you could say “J’en ai gros sur la patate” because ‘patate‘ although it really means ‘(potato) spud’ in English, is often used to refer to many other things when using French slang. So, be careful, because ‘patate’ can also mean ‘idiot’ as in “Il est vraiment une patate”. Or if you want to say that you have a friend who parties all night because he has a lot of energy or stamina, you could say “Il a la patate” or if you are wondering how you can get your energy back when you are sick with a cold, for example, you could ask “Qu’est-ce que je dois prendre pour avoir la patate?”. If you’ve been overloaded with information and your head is going to explode, you could say “J’ai la tête comme une patate!“. If you want to encourage someone by telling them to hang in there and not give up, you can say “Lâche pas la patate!” and although we could go on and on with the spuds (the French do grow 20 different varieties and perhaps for this reason, they seem to love using the word) finally, “patati patata” means ‘blah, blah, blah…’.
Moving on to sausages… If someone calls you “une andouille”, don’t thank them as they are calling you ‘a fool’. If your mother or someone else tells you “Fais pas l’andouille!”, they are telling you not to be silly (or, rather, not to do silly things).
As for other foods, a really bad movie is referred to as “un navet” (a turnip). “Chou” (cabbage) can mean ‘honey’, ’sweatheart’, ‘granny’ and ‘love’ when talking about another person. “Bête comme chou” refers to something that is really easy or ‘easy as pie’. “Faire chou blanc” means to ‘draw a blank’.
And just to throw a few fruits in, ‘”une poire” (a pear) or even “une pomme” (an apple) can mean ‘a sucker’ as in someone who is gullible and falls for anything. “Avoir la pêche” (peach) means to feel great and energetic just like “avoir la patate” above.
Well, I’m starting to get hungry, so until next time, je m’en vais (I’m outta here)!
Posted under Vocabulary
Tagged with argot, avoir la patate, avoir la pêche, avoir la tête comme une patate, bête comme chou, faire chou blanc, faire la andouille, French food, French slang, French vocabulary, gros sur la patate, lâche pas la patate, patati patata |
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Posted by Chanda
In my very first French class, the students were required to read Petit Nicolas by Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny. That was the beginning of my love affair with these French stories about a young schoolboy who gets into all sorts of mischief (un écolier à malice), his friends and family, all told through the little boy’s eyes. I also have Joachim a des ennuis, which continues with the adventures of petit Nicolas. I recommend these books to any beginning French student as they are easy to read, yet full of interesting new vocabulary. Each book is divided into very amusing, short stories about the adventures of the Bande des Vengeurs (Vengeful Gang). There’s Un souvenir qu’on va chérir (A souvenir to cherish), which is all about the difficult task of reigning in the kids for the class picture. There’s Les cowboys where Nicolas invites his friends over to play cowboys, they get into all sorts of fights and trouble and when Nicolas’ father starts to scold them, he ends up playing too and getting tied to a tree. Then, there’s La visite de Mémé where Nicolas’ grandmother, who is a bit mischievous herself, comes to stay and his father has to sleep on the sofa and suffers in other ways because of his annoying mother-in-law. There are many of these hilarious shorts stories and best of all, the little cartoon pictures that accompany them are adorable and humorous at the same time.
Anyone who has read the books or anyone who reads the books now can answer the questions below:
1. Comment s’appelle le petit frère de Joachim?
2. C’est quoi la profession du père de Rufus?
3. Qui est le chouchou de la maîtresse?
On attend vos réponses… Bonne lecture!
