French phrases

[toadgirl]

I don't speak French and I only did an A-Level in French many moons ago, so I am not claiming to be an expert here.

However, here are a couple of examples that drive me crazy:-

Fox paws (faux pas)
Percy or per say (per se)

Isn't it better to be à poil, though?

Depends on "le temps" and on the time

More seriously, au naturel used to mean naked in English = à poil.

Au poil means something else (which might be what you meant).

Kickass the German ei vs ie issue drives me bonkers! Years of learning German has drilled the pronunciation of ei in my head as 'eye', so I really struggle to rhyme the shop Reiss with 'fleece'! I just can't do it! I now avoid it at all costs!

The way lingerie is pronounced annoys me, just say knickers ffs, everybody knows they're from M&S

"A panini"

DH says its "le fil pubien"

Most amused with people getting their pedantry corrected up thread

As an American I can say I have never heard another American say val (it) and certainly not seen wahla.

I have seen Chester Draws used frequently here though!

This is all very educational. Love it!

In my job I almost always learn a new medical word every day so I always feel like I'm in school

I've seen "wahla" in forums many times.

I have seen Chester Draws used frequently here though!

A mistake that Americans generally do not make, by the way, most of us being rhotic speakers.

My Yorkshire mum used silver plate! :)

Also San fairy Anne for ce n'est fait rien (sp)

As I understand it, the American 'urn' pronunciation of herb is a hangover from how we (British) use to keep the h silent years ago. Hence 'an hotel' as a similar hangover; if you drop the h it's easier to say than if you sound out hotel as we say it today.

*urb

I live in France. My French friends think it's hilarious that the English use "en suite" to mean a bathroom attached to a bedroom

At one point there were TWO salons in my old hometown called Deja Vous. (Sorry can't do diacritical marks.)

overthehill - I know a very genuinely Italian Gabriella

I like "RSVP please" on the party invite DS received today

I love fox paws.
Thomas (or anyone) could you explain the Charles Hockey comment? Je ne comprends pas!
Olenna, as we are being pedantic your DS received an invitation I get a bit het up about invite/invitation.
Should it be a panino? I think I'd feel a bit of a twat odd asking for that in our local sandwich shop, which is called Fine Baps.

I teach about 7 very real Italian Gabriellas.

Technically it should be a panino, in the same way it should be a spaghetto (if you slop just one strand down your jumper) but it would sound just as twatty in public as the girl I was at university with who talked about going to work in Barrrrrrrrthelona for the summer.

In any case, no Italian would ever recognise a British panino/panini. Panino is just a filled bread roll of any kind, not a £££££s one that needs toasting etc. (and while we're on it, they'd never let a sun-dried tomato or pesto anywhere near one either)

Lasagna is also perfectly correct.

It means one sheet thereof.

Lasagne is plural. We talk about eating "le lasagne" not " la lasagna" because you have more than one sheet.

Oh j'adore this thread!

Another one asking why 'all-onde' for 'Hollande' though? Surely it's 'oll-ande'?

Love J'adore Yourself

The French love to throw a bit of English into a shop name too, in the hope of sounding a bit cool. It just all goes a bit wrong. Par exemple: a men's clothing shop called Scotland Hard. Which is just...not making any sense at all.

Also, not at all the point of the thread but when Iived in France I used to love hearing French djs on the radio lining up "le top hit d' Oooo Beh Quarante"

How have I never found this corner of Munsnet before? This is wonderful! I simply don't understand why someone would use a word they don't understand - which has to be the case with ' 'wahla' - unless I suppose they think it's just a sound like 'ta daa!'. No idea.

I'm intrigued, MisguidedAngel, what should we call an 'en suite' - or what would it be called in France?

Une salle de bains attenante, or une salle de bains privative in estate-agent-speak.

TheCrow - invite has a noun has a long history dating back a few hundred years.

Charles Hockey is Charles Haughey - obviously at some point the BBC Official Newsreader Pronunciation Guide said it should be pronounced like the sport