Year: 2010

Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Video

Howards End

Something you may enjoy!

A. O. Scott reviews James Ivory and Ismail Merchant’s adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins.

 

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments

What the British say on Sunday mornings …

Thank you, Gisela!

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments History

October 9, 1779 – The French, supporting American Independance, attempt to defeat the British in Savannah.

Chase Anderson and Christine Tudor kindly contributed this article. A bit of Franco-American history!

Savannah, Georgia —

Before dawn. October 9th, 1779 — Thousands of French, American and Haitian troops assemble under cover of darkness for what is to be a surprise attack on British forces who had captured Savannah one year earlier. Little do the Allies know – spies have already warned the British. Before dawn the eerie wail of bagpipes drift toward the Allies through the fog. The British had brought in their fiercest troops — the 71st Highlanders.

At the first light of dawn — Admiral Comte d’Estaing, against the advice of his top officers, launches the assault. The drummers beat the command to charge bayonets. They emerge from the fog. The French vanguard surges forward toward Spring Hill redoubt. The British spray them with musket fire and grapeshot–pieces of scrap iron, nails, bolts, steel blades, and chain. One French officer writes — “we were shoved back into the swampy ground on our left — Half of us were killed or left stuck in the mud.The Allied troops, helpless and exposed to deadly musket and artillery cross-fire, are butchered in the ditch. The moment of retreat, another officer writes later, “with the cries of our dying comrades piercing my heart is the bitterest of my life.”

The two sides observe a four-hour truce to collect and bury the dead and to retrieve the wounded. 151 French are killed and 370 wounded, 231 Americans killed and wounded. The British lose only 18 killed and 39 wounded. For the Allies, Savannah is the bloodiest battle of the war, a Bunker Hill in reverse. d’Estaing prepares the retreat, marches his troops back to the French ships, leaving many unmarked French graves behind, loads his guns and equipment aboard, and sets sail for the West Indies and France.

The Battle for Savannah was considered to be a major defeat for the Franco-American Alliance but the French sacrifice in blood for American liberty will never be forgotten by Americans who still breathe the air of freedom and remember those French who purchased it in blood and money. This Saturday, a public march honoring the Franco-American troops at Spring Hill will commence at dawn near Spring Hill in Savannah — an annual event hosted by Savannah’s Coastal Heritage Society. (http://www.chsgeorgia.org/home.cfm/page/Calendar/Date/10.09.10/Event/324.html)

A Savannah-French walking tour, honoring the historic French presence in and influence upon Savannah is in the final planning stages. The tour will be led by Parisian born, Christine Tudor.  Christine also conducts Savannah history tours in French for visitors seeking a tour in their native language.

Contact: Chase Anderson
Savannah Cultural Heritage Tours
savannahpathways@gmail.com
(1-912-508-1234)

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Expressions Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Idiomatic Expressions

Answers to the Listening Bee: October 8, 2010

 
       
         
  1. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
  2. Nothing hurts like the truth.”
  3. “Let’s get down to business
  4. “Keep smiling!”

5.  “I’ve got to run now”

  1. ” The rest is history.”
     

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Posted in Commentaires Inter-culturelles anglais/français

mots amis ou … faux amis …

(à traduire en français … un volontaire? )

When I first began teaching English in France, I heard an expression I had never encounterd before: False Friends. What in the world could that mean? Only a Frenchman would know … that he meant look-alikes or even worse, imposters or traitors!

There are quite a few words which, in French and in English, have the same or similar spellings, maybe the same roots but which are not used in the same ways in the two languages.  As with wild mushrooms … some look-alikes … are dangerous.

If you hear a Frenchman say “actually” in English … you can be suspicious. The word slips into a sentence easily and isn’t illogical in most cases. If the Frenchman knows that the word means “in fact” and he uses it that way … that’s fine. BUT if he thinks that “actually” is the faithful translation of the French word “actuellement” … we’re mistaken and into … look-alikes: A fair translation of the idea of “actuellement” would be “now, at the present time.”

We are thus facing not just two words but two different concepts.

The French word, actuel, expresses a concept in TIME; the English word actual expresses the concept of fact, of ACCURACY.

Misunderstandings are born of … assumptions. Beware of look-alikes!

Fortunately … “false” friends aren’t the only kind … There are thousands of real ones, those you can count on, including the TV series …

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Posted in anglais/français

susceptible

Et en français … que signifie le mot “susceptible” ? Comment est-il utilisé?

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Posted in Commentaires Inter-culturelles

Appel à la participation des amis … du Paris Savannah Connection!

The Paris Savannah Connection a besoin de vous !

Voici quelques indications et infos … qui? quoi? quand? comment? pourquoi?

qui? : toute personne compétente en anglais OU en français OU aspire à être bilingue … , celles et ceux qui aiment la photo, les arts, la littérature; celles et ceux qui ont des compétences en TEFL, en FLE, en programmation WordPress, PHP, en numérique, en graphisme …

pourquoi faire? rédiger, traduire, relire, programmer … ou contribuer un peu de votre temps dans votre spécialité – en anglais ou en français … ou par un “sponsoring” d’une newsletter!

quand? A votre guise … le matin, le midi, le soir! Quand vous disposez de quelques minutes et d’un accès à internet.

comment? en assumant une petit tâche – ou en créant quelque chose de votre propre gré … Il y a tellement de choses à faire.

pourquoi? parce que vous aimez le site et l’idée du Paris Savannah Connection et que vous aimeriez le voir évoluer … de façon bilingue. Parce que le monde enligne est un monde collaboratif … Parce que vous souhaitez élargir votre propre visibilité et ceci entre l’Europe et l’Amérique du Nord. Et qui sait? Il y a, éventuellement, d’autres formes de réciprocité !

Si vous souhaitez participez, n’hésitez pas à me contacter …>>> envoyez  un message à Mark

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Posted in Commentaires Inter-culturelles

Y a-t-il des photographes parmi vous?

Certainement! Si vous avez des photos de Paris ou de Savannah que vous aimeriez partager … faites-moi savoir! Je les ajouterai aux galéries! Bonne journée, Mark

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Posted in Music Cross Cultural Comments USA Audio Cinema Video

“Singin’ in the Rain”

If you need to get out of a rainy mood, or if you just happen to like movies, take a 4 minute refresher by watching this!

A. 0. Scott takes a look at the 1952 musical:

Singin’ in the rain !

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Posted in Commentaires Inter-culturelles

A voleur voleur et demi.

It takes a thief to catch a thief…

Listen …

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