The Wordsmith

Liberalism, Warts and All

Regularly decried as the source of all evils, liberalism (like democracy) seems to be the worst system – except for all the others that […]

By Dominique Mataillet
| November 21, 2022

The Wordsmith

Hubris Syndrome, a Sickness of Heads of State

From Trump to Putin to Erdogan, many political leaders are suffering from a pathology whose symptoms include the feeling of being omnipotent. […]

By Dominique Mataillet
| September 8, 2022

The Wordsmith

Balderdash, Twaddle, and Other Macronisms

Despite speaking a very refined French, President Emmanuel Macron allows himself the occasional semantic indulgence. […]

By Dominique Mataillet
| August 11, 2022

The Wordsmith

Ultracrepidarians, Think You Know Better?

Behind this strange term lurks a plague of our modern times: the omnipresence of people in the public arena who hold forth on subjects […]

By Dominique Mataillet
| May 18, 2022

The Wordsmith

What Makes a Francophone?

March is Francophonie Month, and March 20, International Francophonie Day. This term is used to describe both a sociolinguistic reality and a geopolitical concept. […]

By Dominique Mataillet
| March 1, 2022

Geography

The Astonishing French Names of the United States

Many American states, counties, cities and towns, a multitude of streets, forests, mountains, lakes, and rivers have French names. These toponyms are a testament […]

By Anthony Lacoudre
| October 5, 2021

Book

Translating Trump: Mission Impossible?

With his incoherent, repetitive style, coarse expressions, and dubious syntax, the American president has made life difficult for French translators and journalists. In Trumpspeak, […]

By Claire Levenson
| November 4, 2020

The Observer

Le Pouvoir Discret or Le Soft Power? How French Is Fighting Back Against Globish

It should have been a celebration of French language and literature; instead it kindled a controversy. Last month’s national book fair, Livre Paris, was […]