A bakery in Villedieu (Vaucluse). Don't you love it when the name ("Fournier") ressembles the trade ("boulangerie")? Proof that destiny ne se trompe pas. Do you have any examples of names that match the métier? Thanks for leaving your examples in the comments box.
SE TROMPER (suh-trom-pay) reflexive verb
: to be mistaken, to be
wrong
Examples & Sound file (click the links below):
tout le monde
peut se tromper = anyone can make a mistake
se tromper dans ses calculs = to
mess up in one's calculations
se tromper de numéro = to dial the wrong
number
Download Se tromper
. Download Se tromper
Do you know of any more examples of "se
tromper". What is a (funny, remarkable…) mistake that you have made… in
language or in life? Please use the comments box to share your thoughts with
other readers.
COURRIER in a French Life…
I received the
following letter from Larry Krakauer, after posting James's story a
few weeks back. Larry writes:
His discussion of the use of tu vs. vous, and the relative formality of some
of the older French, reminded me of a true story of my own…
L'Oiseau"
In the summer of 1960, when I was 18, I made my first trip to
France. It was a language study trip with an organization called "Classrooms
Abroad". I spent the summer in the city of Pau, in the south of France. We
lived with French families, and spent our mornings studying French at
the Université de Bordeau à Pau. During the afternoon, we were free to
do whatever we wanted. It was this trip that awakened in me a lifetime love
of France and the French language.
Before starting our first class, we
were greeted by the dean of the university, a certain Monsieur L'Oiseau.
It's easy for me to remember his name nearly 50 years later, because he had a
thin pointed nose that very much resembled the beak of a bird. His welcoming
speech was peppered with examples of the imparfait du subjonctif, making it
fairly incomprehensible to the members of our group, fresh out of high school
French. Once our classes started, we didn't see the dean any
more.
Fast-forward to the end of the summer, when our group threw a
goodbye dinner party for the faculty, and the dean once again put in an
appearance. The dinner was excellent, and the wine flowed freely. Monsieur
L'Oiseau, at the head of the table, became involved in a discussion about the
relative
formality of the French professors compared with American teachers.
The university faculty all referred to each other using their titles, and
the dean was always referred to as Monsieur le Doyen. The Americans at
the table noted that back in the States, teachers were very informal,
and
interacted with each other on a first-name basis.
Having had quite
a few glasses of wine, Monsieur le Doyen apparently decided to try this out.
Looking across the table at a professor named Monsieur Gautier, Monsieur
L'Oiseau called out, in a rather loud voice, "Pierre!" Monsieur Gautier did
not immediately react to this, so the dean persisted, calling out again
"Pierre!" This time, he spoke loudly enough to get everyone's attention, and
a hush fell over the table.
Monsieur Gautier looked back at the dean with
an expression of confusion on his face, and stammered, "Vous . vous parlez à
moi, Monsieur?" The dean replied, "Eh bien, oui, Pierre!" Monsieur Gautier
then said, "Mais… mais.. Je m'appelle Maurice!"
Perhaps the dean
could be forgiven for getting Monsieur Gautier's first name wrong, since he
had never before had occasion to use it. They had only been working together
for thirty years.
—
Larry Krakauer, a retired engineer (http://home.comcast.net/~lkrakauer/), organizes
a free conversation group every other Wednesday evening, in the vicinity of
Wayland, Massachusetts (USA). He vacations in France with his wife Margie,
who studies French with a private tutor.
(http://www.frenchinacton.com/).
If you missed James Wilson's story about his dear friend, Marie, you can view it here. PLUS! James is sharing his helpful tips on language learning. Do not miss them: Download "Tips For Foreign Language Learning" by James Wilson
!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Paris
Events~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In association with the Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore,
Robert Camuto will be signing his new book
"Corkscrewed: Adventures in the
New French Wine Country". The book launch with take place on Thursday Dec. 4;
6-8 pm at Juveniles Bistrot à vins: 47, rue de richelieu, 75001 Paris Tel: 01
42 97 46 49
~~~~~~~~~~~Gifts & More~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
French film: My
Father's Glory
French
cuisine: Fleur De Sel De Camargue French Sea Salt
French
games: Mille Bornes: First published in 1962, Mille Bornes (pronounced "meel
born," French for "milestones") is an auto racing card game whose object, for
each team of two players, is to be the first to complete a series of
1,000-mile trips.
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I am usually a bit nervous before ordering my meal here in Paris, but that night I was all set, Je voudrais . . .
So when the waiter approached I said, very assuredly, “Je suis un polet roti” – without batting any eye, he turned to my husband and said, in perfect English, “And what would like sir?” I am now known by my husband as
“The hot chick from the US”.
Before moving to France, I used to meet up each week with a French girl for conversation. We were in the café, discussing my new puppy,and it seemed logical to me, as the puppy is female, to call it ‘une chiotte’, instead of ‘un chiot’.The giggling told me that I had indeed me tromped!
My mother’s gynecologist is named Dr. Papp. That one always cracks me up!
My high school cooking teacher was named Mrs. Kitchen.
In the same vein (no pun intended!) as the last comment–my grandmother was in the hospital being treated by a Dr.Doctor. C’est vrai!
Many years ago, I stayed with a friend in a suburb of Rome. My first time to go anywhere without her, coming home after dark, I got off the bus at the wrong stop. Fortunately, she lived near a landmark — a drive-in cinema — so I found my way back by asking the first passerby for directions and then confirming them with other people as I went along, always asking if I was headed in the right direction for “il cinema collo schermo all’aria aperta” (the cinema with the screen outside). Everyone confirmed the directions without so much as a smile until the final people I asked, a couple of teenagers, who grinned and said “Si, si — il drive in…”
On an earlier occasion, as a student, the verb “to iron” (stirare) totally escaped me in an oral translation class so, since many Italian and French words are similar, I forged hopefully on with my invented verb “repassare” at which the instructor laughed and said, “Qui non si parla fritaliano!” (We don’t speak Fritaliano here).
Hi!
Here is a selection of French “noms de famille” (surnames) that came from “métier” (trade, craft, profession).
-> boulanger (baker). BOULANGER
In the Middle Ages, the “boulanger” was the “fournier”. In those days, the “fournier” used to bake bread for the villagers, in a communal oven (“four”). FOURNIER, FOURNEYRON, FOURNET. ***Thank you Kristin for the lovely photo!
-> boucher (butcher). BOUCHER, BOUCHIER, BOUCHIEZ
-> potier (potter). POTIER, POTTIER, POUTHIER
-> barbier (barber). BARBIER, LEBARBIER
-> chapelier (hatter). CHAPELIER, CAPELIER, CAPLIER
-> marchand (trader, shopkeeper, stallholder). MARCHAND, LEMARCHAND
-> forestier, garde-forestier (forester). FORESTIER, FORESTIEZ, LEFORESTIER
-> charpentier (carpenter). CHARPENTIER. In the Middle Ages, the “charpentier” was “le chapuis”. CHAPUIS, CHAPUZET
-> tisserand, tisseur (weaver). TISSERAND, TISSERANT, TEYSSANDIER, TEYSSIER, TEISSIER, TISSIER, TISSEUR, TISSOT
-> cordonnier (cobbler, and used to be a shoemaker). CORDONNIER.
-> meunier (miller). MEUNIER, MEUGNIER, MOUNIER
-> clerc (clerk, cleric, scholar). LECLERC, LECLERCQ, DECLERCQ.
-> berger (shepherd). BERGER, BERGERET, BERGERAT.
-> chabrier (goat keeper in the Auvergne region). CHABRIER.
-> bouvier (oxherd). BOUVIER, LE BOUVIER, BOUYER, LEBOYER
-> le forgeron (blacksmith). FORGERON.
In the Middle Ages, the “forgeron” was le “fèvre” (latin faber). The surname LEFÈVRE is very common in France. Also: LEFÈBVRE, LEFÈBURE, FABER, FAVRE, FABRE, FABREAU, …
Our nearby (and very popular) urologist is one of our best resources for vasectomies. His name? Dr. Stopp.