Tuesday, January 18, 2011

CAUTION: LANGUAGE BARRIER CROSSING

I love speaking French, but sometimes I feel like what I 'm about to say is an accident waiting to happen. Like the time when I wanted to say "The best thing to do is to shut up and not say anything."

It came out instead a rather winsome "La meillure chose à faire, c'est de fermer ton clapier et de ne rien dire; or shut your rabbit hutch and not say anything.

Vocabulary & slang
Clapet: valve, mouth
Clapier: rabbit hutch
Clapper: to click one's tongue
Ferme ton clapet: hold your tongue, shut up
Quel clapet: what a chatterbox!




A comedy of errors! Click on titles to read earlier posts on the same theme:
Chic, Chickpeas
Madame Malaprop Goes to the Dentist
I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore
It's All in How You Say It
Accidental English
The Artichoke Next Door

Text & photo ©2011 P.B. Lecron

2 comments:

  1. Your article on French language is awesome. Children can easily learn French language from their parents. In that case learn and play french provide easy way to improve language for children and they will have good command in future for their native language and they will be good native speakers.

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