Archives des The French Language - FUSAC Paris Classifieds

Hogtied in the Hexagon? understand France part 2 of 3

Hogtied in the Hexagon? understand France Part 2 Our choice of 15 Books to help you better understand France. Part 1 of this article Part 3 of this article First of all what is "hogtied"? To hogtie is an Americanism that goes back to about 1890 literally meaning to tie an animal, in particular a hog, with all four feet together. Figuratively the phrase mean to thwart or hamper. So here is part 2 of our list of 15 books that'll help you feel less bewildered and understand France. What is the Hexagon? The Hexagon is a nickname for France! (due to the mainland's nearly hexagonal shape) Memoirs of Hadrian Marguerite Yourcenar Memoirs of Hadrian is a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar, the first woman ever elected to the Académie française (1980). It is about the life and death of Roman Emperor Hadrian. The book takes the form of a letter to Hadrian’s cousin and eventual successor «Mark» (Marcus Aurelius). The emperor meditates on militar…

Hogtied in the Hexagon? comprehend France part 1 of 3

Hogtied in the Hexagon? comprehend France Part 1 Our choice of 15 Books to help you better comprehend France. First of all what is "hogtied"? To hogtie is an Americanism that goes back to about 1890 literally meaning to tie an animal, in particular a hog, with all four feet together. Figuratively the phrase means to thwart or hamper. So below is the beginning of our list of 15 books that'll help you feel less bewildered and more comprehend France. What is the Hexagon? The Hexagon is a nickname for France! (due to the mainland's nearly hexagonal shape) Part 2 of this article Part 3 of this article Dictionnaire amoureux de l’Histoire de France Max Gallo Max the historian works the alphabet from A to Z with entries ranging from Alésia to Jean Zay, touching along the way on Bernard de Clairvaux, Dreyfus, François Ier, Gambetta, Geneviève de Gaulle-Anthonioz, Henri IV, les intellectuels, la laïcité, le maquis, Saint Louis and Verdun. When Monsieur Gallo says he lov…

How do you translate… ?

Newcomers, stay with us here: you might need this some day. Old-timers, has something like the following happened to you? You’ve moved to France and after several weeks, your nice bakery-lady realizes that you’re not a tourist but a bona fide resident of the quartier. She’s always found you genial, so one day she tries her luck, saying in French, “I want to put a sign in the window about all our offerings, to attract English-speaking clients. I would be thrilled to translate it myself, as I know a bit of English, but I’m not familiar with specific words related to gastronomy. Could I ask you to do me a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig favor and translate it? It’s not long-only three paragraphs. That said, please feel free to say no.” Several months go by and you find a job. You get along well with everyone, from the floor sweeper all the way up to the CEO. On your way out to lunch one day, the receptionist corrals you and says in French, “My son is looking for an internship in the UK…

Are these things really French?

True or False? 20 things called French that may or may not be. Are they really French? The following items are called French. But are they really French origin? We did a bit of research on the origins of these items and why they are called French. Some are, some aren’t, some wanna be. And some you really can’t tell. French dressing? TRUE! French dressing originally came from French vinaigrette, so this is true. Take, for instance, the 1896 Boston Cooking School Cookbook. This is the first and original Fannie Farmer Cookbook. The first cookbook ever to codify cooking. https://fusac.fr/a-brief-history-of-the-cookbook/ The section on Salad Dressings begins with French Dressing, which calls for simply oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper – a traditional salad sauce the French call Vinaigrette. Then In the early twentieth century, "French dressing" evolved from being just another term for vinaigrette to describing a specific style of salad dressing. American versions often added …

Christmas Poem

A Christmas poem? How about two ! To wish our readers a “Merry Christmas to all et Bonne Année à tous!” One is two centuries old and the second a contemporary piece that shares the same rhythm.

The first is the famous Christmas poem thought to be written by Clement Clarke Moore "Twas the Night Before Christmas". Moore was a 19th century American writer and scholar and is mostly remembered for his Christmas poem which was originally title "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" which legend says he wrote on Christmas Eve in 1822 during a sleigh ride home from Greenwich Village (imagine riding in a sleigh in New York city!) after buying a turkey for his family (no doubt fresh from the farm). The poem is known for having defined our now timeless image of Santa Claus and for naming the eight reindeer! It was published (in English only and anonymously) the first time on December 23, 1823 by a New York newspaper, The Sentinel, one of the first daily newspap…

Learn French Fast: Why Immersion Outpaces the Classroom

Learn French Fast: Why French Immersion Outpaces the Classroom by Georgiana MAES ONESIM, FITH Many learners of la langue de Molière face the same dilemma: how can I learn French fast? While traditional language schools provide structure, they often progress slowly. By contrast, immersion in France offers an accelerated, life-changing path to fluency. CEFR Levels: Setting Clear Goals The CEFR scale (A1–C2) is the global standard for language proficiency. A1–A2: basics like introducing yourself or asking for directions. B1–B2: confidence in conversations, following the news, working in French. C1–C2: near-native fluency for academic or professional contexts. Most universities require B2, many employers expect it, and residency procedures often demand B1 oral skills. Knowing these benchmarks helps you plan realistically. Why Traditional Classes Can Be Slow The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) estimates 600–750 hours for English speakers to reach …

Why is it called? Part 2: French place names

Why is it called… Part 2: French place names or toponyms Have you ever asked yourself why something is called by a particular name? Place names are also called toponyms. We've learned Paris was named for the Celtic tribe the Parisii who lived in the area (why the Parisii were called that is still up for discussion), that the Seine was named for the nymph Séquana. Here are some other topoynms from the Paris area. Feel free to add your town in the comments. Versailles: The most likely origin of the name Versailles, first mentioned in 1038 as land belonging to a person named Hughes, comes from the Latin word versare which means to turn over (verser, reverser in French) and probably referred to Hughes’s agricultural efforts of clearing and preparing his land for planting. “Un versailles” or “versail” in old French refers to cleared land. Stains: The name of the town of Stains, a town north of Paris, rings strangely in anglophone ears because we hear a noun that means "a mar…

Les Livres français au English Book Room!

Comme Bill & Rosa's English Book Room est en France nous mettons en avant de temps en temps des livres qui nous plaisent en français. Et comme le français est en apprentissage continuel parmi nos lecteurs (les franco et les anglos) ici nous avons sélectionné un livre qui parle des néologismes en Français depuis 1905. Le titre Du Poilu au Métavers des éditions Larousse vient de sortir. Ce nouveau livre présente 300 mots qui sont entrés dans le Petit Larousse illustré entre 1905 et 2025. Ce sont 300 mots qui reflètent l'évolution de nos sociétés, 300 mots qui retracent l'histoire de la société française. Découvrez dix de ces mots ici, do you know them? Croque-note : on connait tous le croque-mort, mais pouvez-vous deviner la signification du croque-note ? Entré dans le dictionnaire en 1905, ce mot désigne quelqu’un qui joue et exécute une partition sans faute mais aussi sans âme. Stichomythie : Dialogue rapide où les interlocuteurs se répondent de façon symétrique. …

How I learned the meaning of a French word: Bonheur

To start the year off write, FUSAC reader Shannon Grochowski celebrates BONHEUR!

How I learned the meaning of a French word: Bonheur, a guest post by Shannon Grochowski

A jar of lavender sits on my shop desk next to my well-used cookbooks. When I ache for France, I open it and take a whiff. Instantly, the heady aroma transports me to a place where I learned the meaning of a French word: Bonheur.

I began encountering Bonheur, which translates to happiness, a few months after a feisty Frenchman requested my hand in marriage. After the proposal, my intended and I took an obligatory flight from Montana to Paris, to get acquainted with his maman and papa. As my monsieur ushered me through the Charles de Gaulle airport, I was without conviction they would approve of me. I didn't speak a lick of French. I was American. And a divorcée. Claude, my husband's ever-so-elegant Parisian mother stood out at the airpor…

Au Gui l’An Neuf ou Bonne et heureuse année à vous

Au Gui l’An Neuf is another way, a bit old fashioned, to say Bonne et heureuse année à vous. La saison voulant que le gui abonde, on en cueillit dès le Moyen Âge pour l'offrir avec ce souhait : « Au gui l'an neuf », formule qui fut remplacée plus tard par « Bon an, mal an, Dieu soit céans » (soit dans la maison). Au XIXe siècle on disait « Bonne et sainte année, le paradis à la fin de vos jours », expression modernisée au XXe siècle en « Bonne et heureuse année ». Mistletoe grows all over northern France and on six of the seven continents. It’s those balls in the bare trees that you think might be nests at first glance, but in fact it is vegetal parasite which rarely kills the host trees and thus is not a pest. Ecologically it is an important plant as it provides food and shelter for many species. A study in Australia mentioned in the NY Times compared forest parcels with mistletoe to parcels from which mistletoe had been removed. The study suggests that mistletoe is…

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