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
| 11 August 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
| 18 May 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
| 1 March 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
| 5 October 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
| 4 November 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 […]

By Anthony Bulger
| 17 April 2019

Interview

A Tool to Protect the French Language in Quebec

The Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF) has been fighting to maintain French as the “normal and usual language” in the province of […]

By Clément Thiery
| 29 March 2018

Americans Are Peaches; the French Are Coconuts

“C’était qui ce mec ? Tu le connais ?” Nous assistions à un match de football américain de mon ancien lycée, dans le Mississippi, […]

By France-Amérique
| 11 September 2017

Discussing Politics with an American: How to Avoid a Screaming Match?

En ce moment aux Etats-Unis, il y a de grandes chances qu’un sujet lié à la politique, l’immigration, la religion ou les questions raciales […]

By France-Amérique
| 2 May 2017

In the U.S., Small Talk Is Not That Small

Imaginez… Vous êtes à Paris. Vous prenez place dans le bus. L’homme assis à vos côtés vous lance “Il fait beau aujourd’hui” avant de s’enquérir : “Où […]

By France-Amérique
| 17 March 2017

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