Month: October 2010
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 …
Related Images:
susceptible
Et en français … que signifie le mot “susceptible” ? Comment est-il utilisé?
Related Images:
Related Articles
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
Related Images:
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
Related Images:
“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 !
Related Images:
It takes a thief … to catch a thief.
It takes a thief to catch a thief …
A few years back, I needed to replace a “burglar-proof” door. There were different models: some were 3-point systems, others were 5-point… and then there were others that had even more. When I asked how long it would take a professional burglar to get through … the answer was …
“a minute a point …
Apparently the best locksmiths … like those who can put a rubik’s Cube back to its original state in a few minutes … are those who’ve cracked the code … who have learnt the secrets.
There’s an old Eastern European proverb which says:
“Old highwaymen make the best police…
but … there are not only men on the road …
Related Images:
James Dyson, and building a better vacuum: newyorker.com
Bristish engineer and inventor James Dyson wasn’t so happy about his own vacuum cleaner … so he designed a better one. And opened up an entirely new market.
Knighted by the Queen … Engineer James became … Sir James!
A story worth reading:
James Dyson, and building a better vacuum: newyorker.com.
Related Images:
Non … c’est non!
Après le premier vient le … ?
Il suffit de cliquer … d’écouter … une fois … deux fois …. puis … !
[audio:http://www.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18110d1.mp3|titles= …. ]
You must be logged in to post a comment.