"Bastille Day": never heard it called that.......

[mint]

other than on English media.

The French say le quatorze juillet or la fête nationale.  My previous French teacher told me that many years ago.  It was something that stayed in my mind, so much so that, when I hear "Bastille Day", it sounds most odd and unnatural!

Any thoughts, anyone?

[Loiseau]

Do you actually hear FRENCH people say that, mint? I can' t say I ever have.

Angela

[Chancer]

Its a long standing girlfriends birthday so since moving to France I have constant reminders so usually phone her, when she used to say "Bastille day" I was still in the UK so it sounded normal, now it grates.

[mint]

No, L'oiseau, never heard it said by French people and, as Chance has posted, it grates when I hear it on English media.

Even worse when they pronounce the "l" as in Basteel Day[6]

[NickP]

[quote user="mint"]No, L'oiseau, never heard it said by French people and, as Chance has posted, it grates when I hear it on English media.

Even worse when they pronounce the "l" as in Basteel Day[6]

[/quote]

Would that be like the French calling London; Londres ? Still I suppose that doesn't grate does it?

[mint]

No, but I don't like them calling Portsmouth Portsmoot[:P]

Or indeed when they drop the "s" from my name just because the "s" comes right at the end.

[Kong]

Can't see an "s" in mint???

[mint]

Alas, Kong, I am down to just the one mint and I must check if it's a Polo or a Trebor.

[NormanH]

She doesn't like it when they ask for 'Zrrreee meeent'

[Ascagne]

No one in France speaks about a "Jour de la Bastille", indeed ! There is actually a reason about the fact that our 14 juillet is not directly linked to the Prise de la Bastille in its denomination : when the IIIe République chose the date of a national day, everyone could not accept a direct reference to the bloody event, symbolic as it may have been. Actually, exactly one year after the Prise de la Bastille, the Fête de la Fédération happened, which was a symbol of the unity of the country. So, in 1880, when the debate happened, the 14 juillet was accepted, with the Fête de la fédération in mind as a consensual reference, which did not prevent to think about the Prise de la Bastille, of course. The law itself did not include any specification of this kind.

It's easily understandable why British and Americans use "Bastille Day", but it is misleading about the nature of the festivities in France. It is above all a celebration of the nation, the commemorative aspect is limited.

[mint]

Thank you for a first post that is full of interest.

I've forgotten how many prisoners were actually released but I am fairly sure that you could count them on the fingers of one hand?

[mint]

Also want to add with sadness that le quatorze juillet will be forever linked in the minds of many French people as the day of the Nice massacre!

We live in such unhappy and uncertain times, don't we?

[Judith]

I've forgotten how many prisoners were actually released but I am fairly

sure that you could count them on the fingers of one hand?

Hi Mint, yes, just finished reading a potted history of the important dates in French history (in French, you'll be pleased to know, not difficult at all) and it said there were indeed only a few prisoners released, some insanes etc etc.

It also mentioned the Fete de la Federation the year after the storming of the Bastille, as we Anglais usually refer to it as, so will agree with the previous poster's useful point of explanation ... however, for we Anglais I fear that the 14 July will always be Bastille Day, as that was what it was called when we learnt our French history!.

 

[mint]

Interesting, Judith, and chapeau for reading a history book in French[:)]

I can't think that I have ever attempted a factual book in French though I do read newspapers, magazines, novels, poetry,plays etc.

Something else I have noted about my French reading is that I don't seem to get on so well with autobiographies or indeed novels written in the first person.  I much prefer a straightforward story written in the third person.

I am in the middle of reading a book by Eric Orsenna and I am not sure if it's even an autobiography  though it could well be autobiographical in parts but I have found it difficult to understand.

It's called L'origine de nos amours and my dear French teacher (my first and best ever) recommended it to me recently.  Perhaps I'll call her and ask her to tell me a bit more about the contents[I]

[Judith]

Mint, merci du compliment!

Actually, I prefer the factuals in French to the novels, which I just cannot get on with, they ramble so along lines which do not move the story forward.  But then I don't like "scenic" novels in English either!

I did try several Maigret, when learning French in the UK, but somehow never quite got the final denouement ;-), but sadly, due to time, I don't tend to read much in French for pleasure at the moment. 

This particular book was not very difficult, but it was interesting, in so far as at the beginning it used the past historic, not unexpectedly, but in the middle moved to the perfect tense.  Maybe written at two different times, or  maybe I missed something about the French conjugaision construction!

I will admit, I didn't know every word, but unlike the last time I read several French books which I used to do when I first came here, I didn't bother to look them up, as I could get the sense of it - mainly lots of different words for dying, being killed, assassinated etc etc, including taking the last breath - usually Kings and Queens but not always - my, how the French got though Kings at one point in their history - and the number who were killed rather than dying is remarkable, especially in the 19th century!

Makes English history look quite tame.

[mint]

LOL Judith about the French getting through their monarchs like a dose of salts!  Never quite heard it put that way, but I "get" it straightaway.  You should have been my history teacher, then I'd have learned something!

I agree about not looking up every word; if not knowing doesn't affect my sense of the meaning of the whole, then I don't look it up.  If it's an important word that recurs throughout and is important for understanding, then I do look it up of course.

The ONLY way, IMO, to progress with knowing lots and lots of words is to read and read.  You could talk to the most erudite and educated French person and you'd still never learn as many new words as you would from reading.

The grammar is my biggest struggle but I am systemically going through the grammar book recommended by both my French teacher and by Betty here but I am not as motivated as I thought I would be.  For me, I think a class is best but I have so far this year been unable to find a suitable class.

Bonne lecture![:)] 

[Cendrillon]

I was told by the person leading our French group (on 14 July this year) that there were only 5 in the Bastille when the event took place.

[Pierre ZFP]

There would have been 6 but the Marquis de Sade got thrown out the week before for shouting rude things down a drainpipe to passers by

Highly amusing take on it HERE

[Cendrillon]

I made a mistake, there were apparently 7 of them![:$]

By the way I've just listened to most of the link you posted, it's hilarious!