Tag: Cross Cultural Comments

Ms. Kalman’s creation:  And the Pursuit of Happiness !

And the Pursuit of Happiness … is of course, derived from the Constitution of the United States of America which guarantees citizens the rights to LIfe, Liberty … And the Pursuit of Happiness !

George … is of course, George Washington. Here’s his story as seen by Ms. Kalman!

Enjoy

And the Pursuit of Happiness !

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What exactly is the Savannah Book Festival?

The Savannah Book Festival is a fun, informative and entertaining three-day event in February that celebrates books and the written word. We bring in authors from around the country to Savannah, who then present their work to audiences of booklovers eager to hear what they have to say.

Here is a link to the site!

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During a recent conference,  more than one speaker used a very clear and easy to pronounce expression:

“At the end of the day …” This expression,  which means … the end result …. is roughly synonomous with

“When all is said and done” or “The bottom line”

and in French … maybe something like … Tous comptes faits … En fin de compte … and I will say that today, at the end of the day, there was a lot of goodwill, lots of business cards were exchanged and promises made!

“The bottom line,” said Dr. Ronald G. Crystal, chief of pulmonology at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Hospital, “is there’s no longterm health effect from volcanic ash.”

(see the article on the vocabulary of green, too)

When all is said and done …

This means that when the discussion is over, when everything has been said … the conclusion is …

Try your own recording of these!

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and the wall came tumbling down.

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It takes the New York Times to let us in on our own secrets!

If you’d like a taste of secret Paris, here’s the first course.

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When S. used the abbreviation “e.t.a.” the other day, it took me a minute to catch on.
“What’s your “e.t.a.?” she asked her mom on the phone.

Well over in France and in Spain, those initials refer to a Basque separatist movement.

In travel-intensive North America, it does not, to my knowledge, refer to a secessionist tendency.

It does have to do with time, though_

“What’s your e.t.a.?”
“Between 12 and 12:30” … That’s to say, just in time for lunch.

E.T.A. =  Estimated Time of Arrival

A fine substitute for “What time do you think you’ll get here?”

For the others, try wikipedia …

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On our bi-monthly hike through the countrysides and forests outside of Paris, Géraldine asked: “What’s the word for “oseille” in English?”  One of the hikers immediately remembered Woody Allen’s 1969 film “Take the money and run” via its French title: “Prends l’oseille et tire-toi” …  Allen used the word “money” though he could have said “dough” … That’s the slang version … In French, the translator might also have said “fric,” slang for …dough … bucks …

So … one of the translations for “oseille” … is indeed … cash.

But oseille is not just slang. It’s a plant, somewhat resembling spinach and it’s not only a very healthy thing to eat, but also quite a tasty one. There are good soups made with it, good sauces, too, especially for fish, and especially for lake and river fish, I believe.

For the life of me, I couldn’t think of the name of the plant in English. This happens. Zen.

Just a little while ago, I opened my email and this is what I found:

“Sorrel? Best G”

She got it. But then, what else would you expect from a nutritionist sinologist ?

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This is a remarkable word … odd … How odd!

We often use it in the same way as the French use the word “bizarre” … How strange! How unusual! How funny! How peculiar! How unexpected … How odd it is!

What an odd thing to say …

And here’s another … obviously everyday way of using it …

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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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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 studying English would know … that he meant word 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, maybe even similar pronunciations 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.”

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.

The same is true of the look-alike “eventuel” and the English “eventual.” The French word means … perhaps, maybe, possibly, could be, might be … The concept behind the word: what about … non-committment ?

And the English word “eventual” ? Sooner or later we’ll get to that one … when we’re into the concept of time … we’ll get there …. gradually.

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

Tip of the day: In order to avoid misunderstandings, ask questions!  Just to confirm what you think you understood. It’s very … economical.

Fortunately … “false” friends aren’t the only kind … There are real and sincere friendships too, with long and deep roots, including one that is called Franco-American.

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