Expressions and sonorities… no translation !
As snug as a bug in a rug... As dead as a doornail... Many English expressions don't always make real sense... they are made up of sonorities and are easy to remember for that reason. They are also totally, TOTALLY, untranslatable ! I mean, you can express their...
The 2 keys for any spoken language
There are two things you can't do without if you want to express yourself in a foreign language : - Vocabulary. Seems obvious when you think about it. If you don't have the words... it's gonna be difficult to get any conversation ! But who actually works on their...
16 rules… that’s all there is in Esperanto !
Unbelievable... The language was created in 1887. It is not a “foreign language” it's a language created for all citizens of the world... that is the credo of Esperanto. How many people speak Esperanto ? About 2 millions in 150 countries. If you hope to meet one of...
KISS or KISS ? Keep It Super Simple !
I could have slightly changed the traditional “Keep it simple, stupid !” into a much smarter “Keep it stupidly simple !” I am still amazed how simply changing the place of a word in an expression can make a world of difference ! To be perfectly accurate, I should have...
The good age to start a new language
I'm going to be quite blunt : at birth ! And the idea to start germinating : wayyyy before birth ! Now I understand that Mom and Dad may not know more than their own mother tongue... or that they never thought about helping their child/dren with this invaluable asset...
Window shopping… guess the French for it 😉
It's Sales big time here in Portugal right now... and it reminded me of an expression we have in French that sends the Australien author-speaker - whose “French Voice” I am - into roars of laughter. In English, you say “window shopping” In French, we say “lécher les...
Guys and cars… a story of gender again 😉
In French, as you know, everything has a gender, not only people but things... and it's one of the difficulties. I was reflecting about cars... and I started to laugh... La voiture - the car - is feminine. So are la berline - the sedan - and la limousine - the...
Verbs… most used, most irregular!
Have you noticed that the most used verbs are also the most irregular ones ? It includes the auxiliary verbs, of course. I guess the reason is that... just like an old pair of comfortable shoes... the more you use them, the more “worn” they become... and the more...
Adjectives… before or after the noun ?
Adjectives... before or after the noun ? In English, things are rather simple, it's before and that's it. You may split hairs when you have more than one adjective : which comes first? In French, it's a whole different story... you place them before and/or after the...