30 janvier 2007
Key sentences to keep in mind
Dear readers,
Come back to you with pleasure!
Well, as it is quite important to keep in mind some key sentences and use them in conversation, here is a summary which could be very helpful in private or professional life.
1) EXPRESS YOUR IDEAS
first / firstly : premierement, en premier lieu
first of all, in the first place : au prealable, pour commencer
first and foremost: avant toute autre chose
to start with / to begin with: pour commencer, au prealable, d'abord
in the second place / secondly : deuxiemement
the second point is : la deuxieme idee est
then, next : ensuite, apres
after that : apres cela
besides : d'autre part, par ailleurs
moreover, in addition, furthermore : en outre
in addition to...: en plus de
what is more : et qui plus est
on the one hand : d'une part
on the other hand : d'autre part
as for : quant a
as regards, as concerns, as far as... is concerned : en ce qui concerne
concerning, regarding : en ce qui concerne
to sum up : en resume
in a word : en un mot
in short : en bref
last but not least : enfin et surtout
all things considered : tout compte fait
all in all: somme toute
2) EXPRESS YOUR OPINION
In my opinion, to my mind, in my view : a mon avis
as for me : quant a moi
personally, I think that... : personnellement, je pense que
my view is that... : mon point de vue est que...
I have the feeling that... : j'ai l'impression que
I am inclined to think that : j'ai tendance a penser que
The point that I want to make is that... : l'idee que je veux faire passer est que
3) COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
likewise, similarly, in the same way : de la meme maniere, de meme
in comparison with, as compared to : en comparaison de, par rapport a
beyond compare : sans comparaison
compared with : compare a
the same applies to ... : ceci s'applique a
on the contrary : au contraire
unlike, contrary to, as opposed to : contrairement a, a l'inverse de
in contrast with : a l'oppose de
as distinct from : par opposition a
conversely : inversement, par contre
except : mis a part, sauf
with the exception of : a l'exception de
regardless of : sans tenir compte de
apart from : a part
Will continue soon...
With best wishes,
Ceraulen
18 janvier 2007
Some tips in English vocabulary
Dear all,
Have you never experienced some doubtful moments when you say something and wonder if what you have just said is correct? It often occurs (happens) when two words have a very similar meaning or pronunciation. Let us look at some of them:
* MINERS & MINORS
A miner is someone whose job is to dig the earth. In France, the North and East were specialized in such industry in the nineteenth century.
Minors represent very young people under 18 years old in France. They are not considered as adult by the society.
* QUITE & QUIET
Much of the difficulty in the word "quite" comes from the general rule (there are exceptions) that the affirmative "quite" is the equivalent of "rather" (plutot). Example: It is quite expensive.
On the opposite, the negative "quite" means "completely" (tout a fait). Example: It is not quite ready.
Quiet means without noise. There is two syllable (kwai-yette) whereas for quite, we have only one (kwaitte).
* HAUT DE GAMME?
Upscale and downscale / upmarket and downmarket. These terms are used about nearly any product, newspapers included, and correspond roughly to "haut de gamme" and "bas de gamme".
* DEALS AND DEALERS
Be careful! The noun "deal", the verb "to deal" and the person " a dealer" all have rather different senses.
A deal is "une affaire", a good deal, a bad deal, we made a deal. The connotation is sometimes, but not always dishonest. It is a deal = c'est d'accord!
To deal in something can be neutral - she deals in used office machines - or pejorative - he deals in drugs and illegal arms.
A dealer is even more dangerous: The word is limited to drug dealers, arms dealers and, curiously car dealers and antique dealers.
* A DENT OR A BUMP?
Unlike in French, dents and bumps in English are very specific. A dent is concave. A bump is convex.
Ex: Your car has a dent.
If you bump (cognez) your head, you may have a bump on your head...
In both cases, the French term is "bosse".
* ARE YOU SICK, ILL OR DISEASED?
How do you say "etre malade" in English?
To be sick is the simplest and most common and maybe the best expression.
"To be ill" is more bourgeois.
"Disease/diseased" is either a clinical and scientific term, or a word that connotes gravity, even horror.
Beware! In British English, "I am going to be sick" means "je vais vomir!".
* IN JAIL OR IN PRISON?
These two words mean about the same thing, but jail is a bit more temporary. If you are in prison, it is probably for a long time.
Note that in Great Britain, you can find "jail" spelt as "gaol". The pronounciation is the same.
* IT SUITS YOU
A suit is, of course, un costume. But to suit is a verb meaning to be acceptable or to go well with. The new contract suits me very well. That colour suits you.
* AGENDA & SCHEDULE
An agenda is not "un agenda" but "un ordre du jour".
A schedule is anything that coordinates "what" with "when": your personal schedule (agenda), a train schedule (horaire)...
* RUBBISH!
Garbage, rubbish, trash and junk are all often used figuratively.
Rubbish! Garbage! are exclamations that indicate something of no value (foutaise!).
Trash tends to communicate low moral value: Hollywood makes a lot of trashy films.
* ARE YOU MEAN?
In British English, mean = avare.
In American, mean = mechant.
* WEDDINGS & MARRIAGES
A wedding is the ceremony of marriage. Marriage is the resulting state.
Weddings can be expensive and complicated, but they are nothing compared to marriage...
What do you think about these remarks?
With best wishes,
Ceraulen
15 janvier 2007
Some cultural facts
Dear readers,
Today, we will continue studying some cultural facts. Here we go!
* LOCAL (REGIONAL) AND NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS
All of the British newspapers you are likely to know of are national - even the former Manchester Guardian is now The Guardian.
Besides, in the United States, most newspapers are "local" - The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times... And these newspapers are indeed difficult to find out their areas - especially on the day of publication.
Only a few American newspapers are national (The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, USA Today).
* TABLOIDS
Among the popular newspapers,
called "tabloids" to distinguish them from the "quality press", the
most famous is "The Sun" which is notoriously anti-European and
specifically anti-French. It is the most popular newspaper in England.
The tabloids are in smaller format than the quality papers (the original meaning of the word was compact and concise).
They are easier to read in the cramped (inconfortables) conditions of the Underground!
* WITH ELEGANCE
If you want to speak
elegant English, try to learn something that even many native speakers
have not mastered : the difference between "to lie-lay-lain"
(s'allonger, se coucher) and "to lay-laid-laid" (allonger, mettre).
"To lie" has no direct object : I was lying on the bed. He lays down.
"To lay" always has a direct object : I laid the baby in its bed. He laid the plans on the table.
* BASEBALL
Baseball is traditionally, historically and linguistically the most important sport in the US.
If
you get a chance, take a few hours and learn something about the game:
it will help your English (like cricket in Great Britain).
"To play hardball" (as opposed to playing football) is to play the faster, harder, more dangerous and more difficult game - figuratively, to act seriously and severely.
*FRENGLISH
Lots of French words are used
in daily English: connoisseur, cliché, amateur... You just have to know
which ones, and how to pronounce them. Also, how to spell them, because
English often uses an ancient spelling of a French word: connoisseur,
Rheims, Lyons... So you get the impression of "déjà vu!".
* CLUMSY OR AWKWARD?
Each term is the rough equivalent of the French maladroit. But clumsy is more physical: You knock over a vase and say, "How clumsy of me!"
Awkward is more figurative or emotional: an awkward moment = un moment genant.
* TERRIBLE OR TERRIFIC?
Terrible is very bad; terrific is very good.
This is a terrible problem.
You are a genius: what a terrific idea!
* ADJUGE!
To bid = faire une enchere
The auctionneer says: "Going once! Going twice! Sold to the man in the blue suit!"
* THE NITTY-GRITTY
"The nitty-gritty" is the essential part, le fond, of a question or a deal.
Let us get down to the nitty-gritty : parlons de l'essentiel.
* WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!
"Way" does not only mean façon or voie - it is also a very common American adverb, generally spoken rather than written.
"Way"
intensifies - it often intensifies words like too much, too little, too
few, too many, or too + an adjective or an adverbe: way too hot, way
too long (=much too hot, much too long).
With best wishes,
Ceraulen
08 janvier 2007
Various tricks in English
Dear readers,
Well, today, we will not be focused on a precise topic (sujet) but I will make some remarks, ones more relevant (pertinent) than others, anyway helpful if you practise the English language.
* Countries and nationalities
Remember:
if the name of the country is simply a proper name, it is not preceded
by "the"; if it is a descriptive collection of words, it always take
"the": the United States, England, the United Kingdom, Germany, France,
the Soviet Union, the Netherlands...
except, of course, in newspaper titles, where sometimes half the sentence and all the "little" words are missing!
* Do you know what are the differences between "Great Britain" and "United Kingdom"?
It
is mainly (principalement) a question of territories as Great Britain
is composed of England + Scotland (Ecosse) + Wales (Pays de Galles)
whereas the United Kingdom includes Great Britain + Northern Ireland.
The Irish, the Scots and the Welsh may think of themselves as British, but they certainly do not think of themselves as English.
Technically, and in formal English, "Scotch" is only a whishy drunk by Scots who sing Scottish songs.
* Ireland, Ulster, Eire or what?
Northern Ireland is also called Ulster.
The Republic of Ireland is also called Eire.
* Damn Yankees
Outside the US, Yankee is, of course, equivalent to an American person.
Inside the US, Yankee = a Northener, especially a New Englander, the people who invaded the South during the US civil War.
* Spanish or Spaniard?
One Spaniard, two Spaniards = un Espagnol, deux Espagnols
The Spanish = les Espagnols
Once
upon a time (il etait une fois) there were three Spaniards who spoke
Spanish, lived in Spain and ate Spanish food, like all the Spanish.
* What are the English translation of the "7 peches capitaux", seven deadly sins?
Pride = l'orgueil
Covetousness = l'avarice
Lust = la luxure
Anger = la colere
Gluttony = la gourmandise
Envy = l'envie
Sloth = la paresse
* ie or eg?
These rather common abbreviations are often understood by foreigners:
- ie is an abbreviation of the latin "id est" which means "that is to say" (c'est-a-dire)
- eg means "for example" from the latin "exempli gratia" (for the sake of example)
* Hamlet
Did you know that a lot of metaphors, quotations (citations) and proverbs come from Shakespeare?
"...And this above all else: to thine own self be true" (et surtout, sois fidele a toi-meme)
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" (ne sois ni preteur ni emprunteur)
"To be or not to be..." (famous - no need to translate, I guess)
* High noon
"High noon" is the title of a famous film (Le train sifflera
trois fois), in which the bad guys come to get the good guy at exactly
12 o'clock noon. Since the film, "high noon" has gad the sense of a
great moment of confrontation.
* College or university?
In the
English-speaking world (monde anglophone), both are university-level.
The distinction is subtle (subtile), but has nothing to do (ne rien a
voir) with quality as the best places to earn a Bachelor's degree are
colleges and not universities. From a simplified point of view, college
= university.
More precisely, a university is usually a large institution of
higher learning which gives not only the Bachelor's degree (licence)
but also the Master's (maitrise) and the Doctorate (doctorat).
A college is smaller, and usually gives only the Bachelor's degree (and sometimes the Master's).
* Mad cows and mad Americans
Originally, "mad" meant crazy. "A madhouse" is still an insane asylum - a residence and treatment center for the mentally ill (asile de fou).
But in modern American - and more and more in the rest of the English-speaking world- the world means "angry" (en colere, fou a lier).
Ex: he got really mad when he found out I was leaving the company.
* US driver's licences
There is
no Franco-American mutual driver's licence (permis de conduire
franco-americain) recognition (reconnaissance) agreement (accord),
because every state issues (editer) its own driving licence.
Driver's
licences are not supposed to be used for identification. Nevetheless,
they are often used. There are no ID (=identity) cards in either
England or United States.
What do you think?
Wish you a pleasant day and come back to you shortly!
With best wishes,
Ceraulen 
05 janvier 2007
Happy New Year 2007!
Happy New year to all of you!
Sorry for this delay as I started working this week and as you can
imagine have to learn a lot from my new company and products.
Hope this new year 2007 could give you joy and happiness, good health,
prosperity and always a touch of "zen" attitude, opening towards
others and tolerance in addition to humour sense and good mood!
Very pleased to notice about 1,000 people read this blog in 2006.
Hope you enjoyed the different supports and topics.
Will do my best to regularly provide you new readings.
With best wishes and remember to be positive in all what you do.
Ceraulen