So it appears, after consultation with a bilingual Francophone and a French-English dictionary, that there is no French equivalent for the adjective “earnest.” That makes so much sense when you think about it.
Category Archives: Francais
What you almost missed
Hopefully I’ll have something more insightful to say about Australian culture after 3 weeks there. We leave tomorrow. I had hoped to entice a Francophone friend to take over the blog in my absence, to chronicle her attempts to get service in French at chain coffeeshops in NDG and Westmount (it’s funnier than it sounds), …
In place of a real post
I’ll just write and say that I was a little disappointed that the Quebecois gangsters didn’t get a little more time on last night’s The Sopranos. But we’ll take what we can get. Commentary (and links to more) here.
More Language Politics
I was pleased to see that the French language lobby stopped the Esso Corporation’s plan to give its depanneurs an English name — “On the Go,” and I am pleased to see that people are now starting to ask questions about the English-language signs for multinationals. Since Bill 101 the Quebec language police have been …
Oh. My. God.
The first ad campaign for Montreal’s Metro. 1976, shot in the Atwater station. Check out the cool synth intro. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a TV ad for a subway before.
Kitchenware and Ammo, Together as You’ve Always Wanted Them
Locals will wonder what took us so long and everyone reading at a distance will have to file this under “what the hell?” We finally made it to Quincaillerie Dante yesterday while on some errands about town. What an amazing store. Much better prices on kitchen gadgetry and cookware than the fancy-pants cooking stores and …
Continue reading “Kitchenware and Ammo, Together as You’ve Always Wanted Them”
Bon Cop Bad Cop
Reviewed here.