France is something of a conundrum. On one hand it is a strong supporter of the EU, being a founding member, and on the other hand it firmly supports keeping it’s freedom and identify. One of the ways it guards its identify is through its language. For example, to reduce the anglicization of the French language, government and business communication must be conduct in French. There is even an organization called The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie to promote French culture. It’s a bit like cricket and the British Commonwealth but without the beer tent and the possibility of concussion.
Anyway, with the spread of Franglais, you can see why the French might be worried about the erosion of their language. So, apart from Bill Wyman’s (Si Si) Je Suis un Rock Star, what other things have the french government worried?
Here’s a few examples
- C’est le must! or, if you’re feeling proficient, It’s de rigueur!
- Un booking.
- Le check-in.
- Le booze-cruise.
And technology hasn’t be kind to the french language, either.
- Le hardware.
- Le software.
- Le spam.
- Le smiley.
But worst of all (and after the rest of the world has come to embrace the french term) has to be
- “Good eating!”
Quel horreur. It’s enough to make me wonder if Franglais is Franco-British or Anglo-French.
Vous avez un franglais vous want to share?
Cheers!
Frenglish is a second language for me. One of my friends is from Quebec, and he’s bilingual… to the point where he often can’t remember whether he’s speaking English or French. It’s always fun, and we usually understand each other just fine even though my French is pretty rusty.
A couple more for the list: Le hot-dog and le weekend…
Classics, Diane. I’m looking forward to using le weekend already!
Cheers!
Why is France even there?
I love the place. It’s the oddities that make it so great.
Besides, if it wasn’t there, a certain colony wouldn’t have had enough money and arms to kick out some pesky Brits!
Cheers!
My command of French only extends to imitations of Inspector Clouseau and Pepe Le Pew. I’m sure that makes the French really happy.
Clouseau is frequently heard in our house, too. Often when I go from reum to reum.
If you like Clouseau, try ‘allo ‘allo which is sometimes on Ch 13. The policeman’s not quite the same, but he has a really funny interpretation of the french language!
Cheers!
“Le smiley” and “Good eating” are the ones that amuse me the most. They must be giving the French migraines by the dozen. Le weekend is a good one too, I also think “le pipi” is funny but I’m not sure if that stems from the English “peepee” or if we got our word from them. Or maybe it’s just an international thing.
Hum… I just had to stop myself from saying, the origin of peepee may be worth investigating.
Of course, there’s Le Clown …
Cheers!