Messages

1

English & Linguistics / Re: Funny English and Linguistics stuff...

« on: December 31, 2013, 02:39:35 AM »

It had to happen: there are many English words used in French, so I read my first grocer's apostrophe on a French poster yesterday.
"Ipad's à gagner !"

2

English & Linguistics / Re: Quotes from work

« on: March 29, 2013, 04:10:12 AM »

It made me and my coworkers laugh, too. I think that's a good sign that it needs to be changed.

Don't you like a good laugh?

3

English & Linguistics / Re: Funny English and Linguistics stuff...

« on: March 15, 2013, 08:44:42 AM »

 

4

English & Linguistics / Re: What do they call . . .

« on: March 15, 2013, 08:43:52 AM »

Oh! Looks like the French have a more common word for philtrum. It's l'arc de Cupidon, or "Cupid's bow." Kind of cute.

I always heard it called "La marque de l'ange". It comes from a story saying that before babies are born, they remember where they were before being conceived (Paradize?). When they are born their guardian angel puts his finger on their lips and say "shush", making them forget everything.

5

English & Linguistics / Re: Funny English and Linguistics stuff...

« on: December 11, 2012, 05:53:35 AM »

Hence the

6

English & Linguistics / Re: Funny English and Linguistics stuff...

« on: December 11, 2012, 05:21:07 AM »

I will say that whoever devised the silent b in "Subtle" was on some sort of clever pill at the time. They should have given him/her more words to devise.

It comes from French (subtil), and we pronounce it that way. You are weird for not pronouncing letters that are there.

7

English & Linguistics / How do you pronounce...

« on: May 06, 2006, 11:27:56 AM »

SM : I read the first trilogy, I heard there were new books with only Lyra but I'm not too sure whether I want to read them or not. What about you?  

8

English & Linguistics / How do you pronounce...

« on: May 05, 2006, 09:23:44 AM »

JB, I know you would feel that way - sometimes it makes me sad I can't share books I loved with everyone but I guess that's life.
Anyway I didn't make this thread to talk about the books but about the girl's name.

9

English & Linguistics / How do you pronounce...

« on: May 05, 2006, 09:00:30 AM »

I don't think you should read them.
I found them great, but you're a believer so if you don't want to feel offended I think you would have to stick to the idea that it's just a fiction during all the reading and it's not that easy.
Anyway I always wondered about the pronounciation of the girl's name, because I heard both the one you gave and the one Jon Boy gave.  

10

English & Linguistics / How do you pronounce...

« on: May 05, 2006, 08:39:44 AM »

I don't even know who Philip Pullman is

You must be kidding! In France at least his books have had a great success with both children and adults.
In my head I pronounce it like Jon Boy does, but I'm wondering what would be the correct pronounciation.

11

English & Linguistics / How do you pronounce...

« on: May 05, 2006, 07:20:53 AM »

The name of Philip Pullman's heroin, Lyra?  

12

English & Linguistics / RE: Reexamine

« on: December 17, 2004, 02:12:46 AM »

And does "reread" exist ?  

13

English & Linguistics / Accents

« on: December 10, 2004, 02:39:45 AM »

Prejudice means something else in French, so I always make the mistake
As a matter of facts, the thing I find the most annoying with prejudices against accents is that not all accents are treated the same. The South accent is seen as really positive, "singing, and that gives sun in the voice".   But the North accent is seen as bad because it has been a really poor region for quite a while, and even now it's poorer than other regions in France. So when you have that accent, people associate you to "poor and uneducated".    

14

English & Linguistics / Accents

« on: December 09, 2004, 12:35:29 PM »

It doesn't mean a lot... People are often surprised when I tell them I'm from the north of France because, as they say, "I don't have an accent". Well, I worked to lose it, and it comes back when I talk to people who have it most people here have bad prejugees against that accent, that's why I worked to lose it. My teachers always told it would be bad to keep it.  

15

English & Linguistics / Another survey

« on: December 09, 2004, 09:04:25 AM »

It's pretty silly from me, but I did it.  

16

English & Linguistics / Hors-d'œuvres

« on: December 06, 2004, 09:31:21 AM »

SACRILEGE !  

17

English & Linguistics / Hors-d'œuvres

« on: December 05, 2004, 01:52:31 PM »

for Jon.  

18

English & Linguistics / Quoting

« on: October 28, 2004, 04:57:30 AM »

In French, you can add things like this : "your (Harry's) broomstick..." or change it like this "and that [Harry's] broomstick..."

19

English & Linguistics / "I speak a foreign language." How do you respond?

« on: October 22, 2004, 01:53:09 AM »

We call her "Jeanne d'Arc", which sounds a lot different, that must be why I didn't realize the trick
But that's no excuse because I heard how English speaker name her in a Leonard Cohen's song.  

20

English & Linguistics / "I speak a foreign language." How do you respond?

« on: October 21, 2004, 01:00:49 PM »

Of course they do. I work in a school, so I should know ! But obviously, they don't teach you French. We learn French when we're babies !  

21

English & Linguistics / "I speak a foreign language." How do you respond?

« on: October 21, 2004, 11:36:43 AM »

I sure never heard about this guy. Canadian maybe ?

22

English & Linguistics / "I speak a foreign language." How do you respond?

« on: October 21, 2004, 09:06:17 AM »

Babelfish isn't always the good answer to your foreign languages questions
People would look at you in a weird way if you asked "Puis-je avoir des arachides, s'il vous plait".