Sfgraveston Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 We have a house deep in the south in Aude (11) and our neighbours have very strong local accents. We've figured out that tu'a is really 'tu vois' (you see/understand) and this is confirmed by our neighbour. What we are still struggling with is the occasional expression which sounds like ca est or essayer (which it isn't)Locally in the restaurants 'ca tait' is also used to ask how a particular dish was.Can anyone help with ca est?StuartDoucement le matin, pas trop vite le soir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miki Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 LAST EDITED ON 14-Apr-04 AT 06:18 PM (GMT)Are they saying sit down perhaps? Just cutting down on asseyez-vous? or perhaps "assez" with the meaning "enough"?Any reason that they might say "that is"? ca est (doubtful but...)When we were in Provence I dread to think just how many words were cut down and had no real sense in French vocabulary. Miki Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opas Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 in what context is this used, we are in catalonia, and speaking with some of the neighbours is like listening to another language(if you catch my drift!)Mr O talks and understands our aged neighbour who is Catalan and some of the French ones don`t know what he has said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merteuil2 Posted April 15, 2004 Share Posted April 15, 2004 They could be saying "a y est", it's one of those things that can mean whatever you want it to mean:"There/That's it" if you've done something/managed to do something"a y est?" - question. Rather like "a va?" = OK? or even "is it finished?" or "will that do?". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lingo Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Hi there,It's likely they're saying 'ca y est' - meaning 'that's it, then', 'all done' or (in some circumstances) 'here we go again!) - a lot of regional accents chop this down to something sounding like 'sa ye' which could be what you're hearing.As for the restaurant expression - sounds like they're asking 'ca a ete'? how was it (lit: has it been).Hope this helpsAllanwww.lingolanguages.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 I'm with lingo, ça y est is probably what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesLauriers Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Lingo & TU are correct as I had specifically asked this at my french class last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deby Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 Yep, that is what I thought it was too! Used all the time in Charente-Maritime/Gironde border.A new expression for this region which I have learned is for a 'poche' meaning 'sac' as in shopping bag, those flimsy plastic ones. On my daughters' school shopping list - a 'plus forte poche (comme LeClerc)' appeared - I asked the Maitresse to show me what she meant as I really had no idea!Deby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David584 Posted September 24, 2004 Share Posted September 24, 2004 And I thought I had problems with the word "tabac" when I visited Basse-Normandie last week!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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