Even more words ending in ion

The more you look, the more exceptions you find (exception n'est pas une exception). A couple of days ago I gave some answers to the question that I set a couple of weeks ago. Can you find exceptions to the rule that if an English word ends in ion then it is translated into French - just say it with a French accent. Now dictation may be something that you have not done for a long time and you may never need the French word, but if you do it is la dictée.

If you go to France because of their fashion, don’t say fashion with a French accent because nobody will understand you. La mode is the correct word and à la mode is the phrase for fashionable. Salvation is le salut, which also means a salute and you may know the word as an alternative to hello.

Here are two words that fit the usual routine. If you are a fan of Dr Who then you can say extermination and if you want to talk about vegetation then it becomes végétation.

Don’t let the exceptions put you off. Think of the word ending in ion and it is almost certainly French.

A bientôt

Lettres Muettes

French pronunciation is one of the hardest aspects of the language. Generally you don't pronounce the end of a French word if it ends in a consonant. Generally if the word ends in a vowel then you do pronounce the final consonant. So the masculine content rhymes with the English 'on', but the feminine contente has a definite 't' sound on the end. Are you happy with that? So far so good but it gets more complicated.

The careful consonants i.e. c r f l at the end of French words are pronounced. Avec is the common example for the letter c. You pronounce the end of words like hiver, oeuf, and avril. As well as endings with these letters look out for sud and sept (but don't pronounce the p). The best way to learn pronunciation is of course to listen and talk with French speakers.

Don't be afraid of mistakes. You can learn from listening but you can also learn from having your mistakes corrected.

A bientôt

Those words ending in ion

This blog may seem a little strange because you could well be reading this in the wrong order. I set a challenge a couple of weeks ago to find English words ending in ion that do not directly translate into French. The three words that I gave you that do not translate are vacation, translation and explanation. The French for these word is vacances, traduction et explication.

Now for some more words. You have been waiting for this one - anticipation is attente. Bunion is oignon. My favourite is carnation which translates as oeillet. It is my favourite example because my favourite film is Jean de Florette which is all about les oeillets. Concussion is commotion and congregation is assemblée. Contraption is machin and cushion is coussin.

This list is not a reflection of the general rule. Generally you just say the word ending in ion with a French accent. Try a little examination. There are no conditions as anyone can give me their interpretation of their inspiration, and because of their actions I will try to give a reaction. The whole of the nation will support you. However if you do find any more exceptions then please let me know, as I would like a full evaluation.

A bientôt

Le passé composé

The passé composé is the French name for the perfect tense. In this sense perfect means that an action has been finished (and imperfect means it isn’t finished). It may help you to remember the passé composé because it is composed of two parts. The first part is called the auxiliary and this is usually avoir but can be être. The second part is called the past participle. There are three types of regular verbs, -er, -ir and –re. For –er verbs you replace er with é. For –ir verbs you replace the ir with i. For –re verbs you replace the re with u.

The best way to learn the passé composé is to get some examples that you will use. J'ai parlé à mon frère. Il est venu chez moi, et il a répondu à mes questions. So that’s how you do the passé composé with regular verbs – only the irregular to learn!

A bientôt

French Singers 2

You can listen to French songs on CD or YouTube or in films. Two recent French films that were released on DVD in England are Les Choristes and La Vie en Rose.

Les Choristes means the choristers but was translated into English as 'The Chorus'. The story is excellent and the music is wonderful. Get the lyrics in front of you when you are listening to the music. Paroles and choristes are the words to search for on the internet.

La Vie en Rose is the story of the life of Edith Piaf. There are clips of her songs which may motivate you to go out and by a Piaf CD. Many will recognise the song La Vie en Rose from the advert on TV for Specsavers. The genuine paroles are so much better. There is a plaque on the wall outside 115 rue de Belleville Paris that says Edith Piaf was born there. Was she born on the street or could she possibly have been born in the Hôpital Tenon as her birth certificate states? It doesn't really matter if it motivates you to go to Paris and find la plaque and listen to some French music.

A bientôt

French Singers

How do you learn words? If you go to a football match you may hear a chant 'Oh! Hisse!' when the goalkeeper is taking a goal kick to try to put him off. Now it would be fairly unusual to go to a French football match but you can easily look at YouTube and hear French songs. One French singer is Hugues Aufray. Have you never heard the name Hugues? Well there was a French king called Hugues in the tenth century. Hugues Aufray is still around so now you know two Hugues. The singer is most famous for his song 'Santiano' and the chorus has the line 'hisse et ho Santiano'.

Listening to French songs is a great way to increase your vocabulary. How do you know who to listen to? One of the easiest ways is to sample the songs on YouTube, but the best way is to have a conversation in France and ask them about French singers. You will probably know of Piaf, Chevalier and Aznavour, but I would recommend Joe Dassin. Listen to his song 'Les Champs Elysées'. It is a very popular and catchy French song. I was on a bateau-mouche on the Seine and I was listening to a commentary through earphones. When we were near the Champs Elysées we could hear Joe Dassin’s song in the background.

There are so many other great singers. Find the style that you like and your vocabulary will increase tremendously, and you may even learn the French for heave-ho.

A bientôt

Public transport

When I was at school (many years ago) my teacher told me that on the continent you do not queue for public transport. Be careful of the little old lady with the umbrella because she will use it against you when the bus comes. My experience of public transport in France could not be more different from this caricature.

A couple of years ago I was in Paris on New Year's Eve. There was naturally a reduced service on the métro, but after 7pm it was free. I had bought my carnet which made travelling very cheap but I didn’t need to spend anything.

The word to learn today is composter. It is nothing to do with gardening but means to punch the train or tram ticket. In Caen, the trams (like the métro) are very frequent, cheap and clean. There is no scrum to get on but il faut composter votre ticket.

A bientôt