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Swearwords


Chris Head

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I think it's about time I familiarised myself after the bar do and also my boys tend to say stuff to each other that I think might be quite rude, so could I have a list of whatever it is I'm likely to hear please!

Maybe pm might be better for the really bad stuff or the mods might just have a few more grey hairs by the end of the week[:D]

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You need to get this book called : 'M e r d e ! or how to speak your best french' ...... some'it like that.... the M word was definitely in the title.

It came out in the early 90's and had an orangey pinkey cover with a cartoon of something supposed to be Inspector Clouseau...very poor imitation.... Can't remember the author. Maybe if you Google or Amazon... Be warn the language has evolved since then and many words maybe out of fashion or no longer spoken.... Anyway you'll never be cool with them as you are just a Dad!! They'll outfox you anyday....[;-)][:D]

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[quote user="Meg and Mog"] ...... for fear of accidentally using a word by mistake in conversation! [:-))] [/quote]

That's OK. One is supposed to learn from their mistake.....

When I was young and over here (in UK) working behind a bar at this pub where I met my OH (I must have been drunk!) this chap one of the regulars and very good friend of OH, had to wear for quite some time a kidney belt for some injuries he had suffered on the rugby field. Both these men insisted on it being called a 'strapodectomy'!   

So innocent I was that at a wedding party for another regular where we had all been invited, someone said : What is X wearing?. It was a very hot spring day and he just threw away the penguin/tail jacket waistcoat and was down to shirt sleeves ...well nearly... I said : Oh! it's a strapodectomy belt because of his injuries at the last rugby match. [:$][:$][:$][:$]    Needless to say that I didn't know what this 'thing' was and that conversation was soon stopped and me ended up in a corner of the marquee on my own for the reminder of the party.....

 

Howzat for making a mistake.....[:'(]

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The only advice I can give (because I do not swear in French - I say

things like "zut" or "bonté devine". Nun-grade stuff. But then I say

"my giddy aunt" in English.) is this: if buying sports shoes, pronounce

"nike" to rhyme with "spike" and under no circumstances attempt to

francophone it to make "niké" to rhyme with "piquer." This can lead to

confussion of an unfortunate nature.

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Swearing has no emotional impact on you if you are doing it a language with which you didn't grow up.  You can understand that the words are no-nos, but you don't FEEL that they are wrong in the same way.  Probably because no one looked at you in shock when your were an impressionable child and told you not to say it.

We were in Quebec with a group of French and Belgian comic book artists who hadn't seen each other for some while.  They were asking each other how their various kids were, using the slang term, : les gosses.  We started to notice that the Quebecois were very, very embarrassed.  We finally forced one of them to tell us the problem.  In French Canadian slang, gosses does NOT mean kids, but means b*lls!  Oops.

PG

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[quote user="Missy"]You need to get this book called : 'M e r d e ! or how to speak your best french' ...... some'it like that.... the M word was definitely in the title. It came out in the early 90's and had an orangey pinkey cover with a cartoon of something supposed to be Inspector Clouseau...very poor imitation.... Can't remember the author. Maybe if you Google or Amazon... Be warn the language has evolved since then and many words maybe out of fashion or no longer spoken.... Anyway you'll never be cool with them as you are just a Dad!! They'll outfox you anyday....[;-)][:D][/quote]

Did you mean this one?

I used to have a copy of this, lent it to an English friend moving to France, never saw him or it again!
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[quote user="Clair"][quote user="Missy"]You need to get this book called : 'M e r d e ! or how to speak your best french' ...... some'it like that.... the M word was definitely in the title. It came out in the early 90's and had an orangey pinkey cover with a cartoon of something supposed to be Inspector Clouseau...very poor imitation.... Can't remember the author. Maybe if you Google or Amazon... Be warn the language has evolved since then and many words maybe out of fashion or no longer spoken.... Anyway you'll never be cool with them as you are just a Dad!! They'll outfox you anyday....[;-)][:D][/quote]

Did you mean this one?
I used to have a copy of this, lent it to an English friend moving to France, never saw him or it again![/quote]

Almost Clair, that's the follow on/update version. We have the original called M e r d e  and it's quite entertaining, especially when we produce for our family and friends to help their French along!!

If Chris wasn't so 'radin' he would but it, or even better we have the Oxford Hachette French Dictionary. It's the pocket addition, about A4 size and nearly 3 inches thick(so I got big pocketsesssss) and it has all the words that you could wish for Chris. It's only about £25. The ruder the word the darker the little circle next to it.

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Indeed, marvellous!  Have you seen all the other languages too?!  I will study the French list and learn but thought I would check if the words in my native language were up to scratch.  I can assure you they were!
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Try reading Tintin in the original french, some brilliant swearwords from captain Haddock

And in "Le Petit Nicolas", by Sempe and Gosciny, some more.........espece de guignol!

Strangely, the French people I've ever seen get UPSET by bad language, seemed more irate at INSULTS, (like calling someone stupid), rather than oscenities.

And the most shock I ever saw was when a man said to a young woman, "Ta gueule!" All the French there, gasped!

 

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Jay Jay - top site. I am half French and there was still a few in there I didnt know.

My son lives and works in Paris so I have sent him the link (he is 26 so probably knows them already but its good info - to understand what others are saying not necessarily to use - honest!).

 

 

 

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I tend to agree with PG in that it just doesn't feel the same when you curse in a non-native language.  Half the time, I am so angry, it doesn't come out right anyway - which of course makes it worse.  I agree with redmike in that it is most helpful to understand what the other folks are saying, particularly the young crowd my daughter hangs out with...

 

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