How are your efforts to "learn more French" working out?

[mint]

Today, I was making a series of RVs chez le kiné.  There was my diary open to note the dates.  She was a bit amused to see that I have a diary (A 5 size) like those used by schoolchildren.

She was to be further amused when she saw what I'd written opposite yesterday's date: les gaz lacrymogènes and blindé. What's all this, she asked?  Well, er.....I heard those words when I was watching the news and I thought I'd add to my vocabulary.

Easy to work out les gaz lacrymogènes but blindé left me flummoxed and I had to resort to la dictionnaire.

Anyone learnt any new words that are completely unguessable at?[:D]

[Patf]

Mint - strange you've mentioned blinde. I belong to a WW2 forum and not long ago found out there that it means armoured vehicles. I still don't know the connection. a very strange word.

Blinder means armour, evidently.

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_v%C3%A9hicules_blind%C3%A9s

Although we're back in the UK I still read La Depeche online everyday to try to keep up with a bit of the language. I'm still not good on listening and understanding.

I have a friend here from Paris and when she realises I can speak a bit of french she starts gabbling away really fast and I hardly understand any of it. It's a  pity because I can see she feels isolated because her english isn't too good.

ps here's another good one I found on ladepeche today - ras le bol. sick and tired of. No idea of the origin.

[nomoss]

It's easier from Spanish, armoured glass for shop windows and steel shutters are "blindado".

[Patf]

Yes but , what's the root of blinde?  Is it from latin?

[nomoss]

[quote user="Patf"]Yes but , what's the root of blinde?  Is it from latin?

[/quote]

 I think the Spanish and the French come from a Germanic source.

[YCCMB]

Pat, I looked it up and etymologically it comes from the German "blenden" - to blind or block. Which makes sense...

[Patf]

I can see that, Betty, but it's still a big stretch to armoured vehicles.

The vagaries of language.

[Patf]

http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/french-tank-drawings.74427/#post-799006

[BritinBretagne]

You do know why tanks are called tanks, don’t you?

[idun]

I wish I had written down a couple of words I heard on french TV last week.

I could not work them out even though I knew the context.

I knew your 'words' though. So for all I am losing some of my french, I haven't lost too much.... apparently!

[Gardengirl]

An interesting subject.

I got to know ras/raz le bol (I’ve seen both spellings) a few years ago when a French friend was clearing out their large shop cellar, filling her car with masses of rubbish from years ago and making several trips to the tip.

After 2 apartments were broken into in our apartment block, it was found that there was a weak point in the door handles, which meant that front doors could be broken into quickly and easily.

I arranged for a locksmith to change handles for a large group of residents at an ‘interesting’ price and llearned about a poignée blindée - with the mechanism protected/blocked.

[Loiseau]

I think "ras le bol" is quite strong; not to be used lightly by us foreigners. It's so hard to tell, isn’t it, who can say what?

Somehow swearing sounds worse from those whose language it isn’t; I can be shocked by French teenagers cadually using the f- word in English, whereas it would sound quite run-of-the-mill from native speakers.

[suein56]

That surprises me .. as ras le bol is not regarded as being at all strong here-abouts, it is used by the most mild-mannered of older French ladies ☺

I've always thought of it as the equivalent of being sick and tired of smthg or fed up to the back teeth.

[Gardengirl]

I also find it used by friends who are ‘fed up to the back teeth’ by somebody or something or other. Not overly strong.

[alittlebitfrench]

I think it is used more as a written statement than used in spoken language. Usually on placards.

I don't think it is offensive at all.

If someone does say it, they tend to point to their head when saying it.

They do that don't they the French. They point to their body when saying things.

Like 'is it written pigeon on my head' (or whatever it is in French) whilst pointing at their head. Then you look at their head to actually see if it is written pigeon.

I have yet though to see anyone with pigeon written on their head.

[Yonner]

maybe its the french equivalent of "its doing my bloody head in" so thats why they point to the head.??

[YCCMB]

Well, I've used, and heard used, the expression for donkeys years. I never saw it as being overly "strong", but I was on a bit of a roll with my etymological investigations so I thought I'd check, and lo:

"En avoir ras-le-bol. Origine: Expression française très usitée et mais reste vulgaire et obscène et pour cause: Le terme bol désigne bien un récipient mais reste attesté en argot avec le sens de "anus" où "cul" (sic...just in case you thought I'd typed it out that way!)

Who knew?

[mint]

Goody, goody, so many INTERESTING comments; I am deffo NOT ras le bol!  I also do not think it is particularly rude.  In fact I went to a book-signing where the book was called ras le bol and the author was a respectable middle-of-the-road white-haired chap with twinkling eyes.

He read extracts of the book to us.  It was a series of anecdotes about ras le bol situations where the descriptions tended to the funny rather than the vulgar or angry.  I didn't understand much French in those days and I didn't buy the book because I thought he was trying to write like Philippe Delerme and failing as he wasn't as funny.  Besides, I couldn't afford 12 euros![:)]

BinB, so tell us what is the origin of "tank", please?

GG, I was wondering whether you could use blindé in a more general way than armoured car and now you have told me about locks that are blindées, so thanks for that.

Actually, what I noted about les gaz lacrymogènes was that gaz is one of those words that are the same in the singular and the plural:  so le gaz, les gaz but les and lacrymogènes need to accord.

I have also noted on many occasions that Proper Nouns also remain the same in the singular and the plural.  So, Madame Mint but les Mint (no "s") to refer to M. et Madame Mint or indeed to la famille Mint (LOL, the family mint, I rather like that!)

Then there are the nouns which only exist in the plural.  So les toilettes (to refer to one bog or any number of bogs) and les retrouvailles ( even if only one meeting).

Other unguessable words are cachet and comprimé .  I do know the meaning now, of course, but certainly they puzzled me immensely when I first came to live in France.  Anyway, I now know any number of medical terms....... acquired through much suffering and indignity, I might add[:-))]

[richard51]

Good googling here.

For PatF/Mints, with your interest on this thread for military/WW2 things can people find where the myth that "carrots can make you see in the dark" comes from.

NB my middle son told me and I felt it so bizarre that I had to use google. Google collaborated so it must be right.

[richard51]

Yonner - that is classed as modern language. Will become classic in only a few years time in some experts views.

[richard51]

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-don1.htm

[BritinBretagne]

I was trying to point out that there need not be a direct link to what the French call a bit of military hardware and the root of other things with the same name. However, as a definition of the French word blindé is armoured, reinforced or bullet-proof there’s no real confusion anyway. (Collins-Robert concise dictionary)

The English word tank comes from the need for secrecy during the manufacturing process of the original models. They were so top secret that the workers who made the reinforced, riveted plate were told that they were making parts for special (water) tanks. The name stuck.

[richard51]

BnB - who will get the carrots myth first?

[nomoss]

[quote user="richard51"]BnB - who will get the carrots myth first?[/quote]

I'm just wondering which of you will be the first to come up with the old chestnut about rabbits not wearing glasses.

[richard51]

Goodness Nomoss - I will tell you in the morning if you dont know how to use google.

Hasbara as a clue.