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)

"as" not "has"!

Americans don't pronounce herb on the same way as French people pronounce herbe.

Americans use a kind of English pronunciation from the seventeenth century.

Olenna that article just shows how long people have been getting it wrong

Unless they're French I get a big pissed off seeing shop fronts/cafes with French names when you know the most French experience they've had is a year in Provence a la Peter Mayle or day trips to Calais.

Disclaimer family is directly French on mum's side...

I have loads of views on this though... Parents have a holiday home in SW France, on the one hand it's nice to see The English out there but on the other hand it pisses me right off to see the English a la Posie Simmons (?) Guardian cartoonist Madame Bovary comic book take on real MB in France. Take a pleasant day trip we did to Roman amphitheatre in Saintes this summer, posh English man very loudly saying to his wife/friend etc at gate "right then Henrietta after you've done this lets see you back at the ranch in (insert French village name) for a few bottles of plonk and some food". I did take the piss out of him on the sly to my friend standing next to me, quietly though.

Apologies that does sound bitchy! I also used to hide if I heard English voices in Intermarche especially near the English foods aisle.