TODAY'S WORD: l'herbe
: grass
"Grassy" words and how they translate to French:
weed = mauvaise herbe
catnip = herbe aux chats
fleabane = herbe Sainte-Roch
blade of grass = brin d'herbe
marijuana = l'herbe
herbs = fines herbes
in the making = en herbe (She's an artist in the making = C'est une artiste en herbe)
L'herbe du voisin est toujours plus verte.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
BIILINGUAL LETTER by Jean-Marc
Listen to Jean-Marc read his story aloud, in French
Depuis ma dernière édition relative à l'attente du berger, je dois avouer m'être fait du soucis quand à la façon de couper les nombreuses herbes dans nos vignes.
Since my previous post concerning waiting for the shepherd, I must confess to having worried about how to cut the many weeds in our vines.
A cette époque de l'année elles devraient être basses, mais avec cet hiver encore doux et chaud, elles ont poussé très vite avec les premières pluies.
At this time of year they should be low, but with winter still mild and warm, they grew very quickly with the first rains.
C'est vrai que j'aurai peut être dû les contenir en passant régulièrement les griffes de mon tracteur mais ce n'est pas trop dans ma façon de faire d'aller brûler du gazole, tasser les sols tout ça pour avoir un sol "propre" comme on dit dans le monde agricole qui arrose également ses champs avec du RoundUp….
It is true that I should have kept them under control by regularly passing the claws of my tractor but it is not my style to burn diesel and pack in the earth–all this to have a "clean" soil as they say in the agricultural world that also waters its fields with RoundUp….
Mais lorsque l'herbe est trop haute, les outils attelés au tracteur deviennent moins efficaces….
But when the grass is too high, the tractor attachments become less efficient….
Je m’apprêtais donc à couper cette herbe à la débroussailleuse à main et je savais combien cela allait être long et fastidieux, d'autant que le temps presse alors qu'il me reste encore deux jours de taille et que les premiers bourgeons des vignes devraient pointer le bout de leur nez d'ici 2 à 3 semaines.
So I was going to cut that grass from the string trimmer and I knew it would be long and tedious, especially since time is short for I have two more days to prune and the first buds of the vines should point the tip of their noses within 2 to 3 weeks.
Dimanche dernier, alors que je partais tailler pour la matinée, quelle n'a pas été ma surprise et mon bonheur de voir toutes ces brebis et même un âne dans nos vignes et oliviers. En trois jours, elles ont déjà bien travaillé et se sont régalées des herbes sauvages et naturelles du Mas des Brun.
Last Sunday, as I was leaving for the morning, what was my surprise and my happiness but to see all these sheep and even a donkey in our vines and olive trees. In three days, they have already worked well and have feasted on the wild and natural herbs of the Mas des Brun.
Surtout, elles m'ont évité un lourd travail et, qui plus est, elles ont amendé le sol. Elles vont rester pendant une dizaine de jours avant de reprendre leur route pour, progressivement regagner les montagnes des Alpes cet été.
Above all, they saved me a lot of work and, more importantly, they improved the soil. They will stay for ten days before resuming their journey to gradually return to the mountains of the Alps this summer.
Lorsqu'elles partiront avec leur Berger Sylvain, je leur dirai au revoir et surtout merci.
When they leave with their shepherd, Sylvain, I will say goodbye and especially thank you.
—
Listen to Jean-Marc read his story aloud, in French
Thanks for picking out a few French words from Jean-Marc's story — to be posted in the next Vocubulary RoundUp. Choose the most useful or the most interesting–or one you had never heard of before & share in the comments at the end of this post.
Une photo pour mieux visualiser le travail de tonte (à droite, les moutons sont déjà passées)
A picture to show you the "mowing" work (on the right, the sheep have passed by) See the video here (or at the end of this post–it may appear as an attachment)
SHOPPING:
WEED EATER – if you do not have sheep, these modern day string trimmers are the next best thing to eliminate patches of weeds
WORDS IN A FRENCH LIFE: a collection of early blog stories from 2002-2006
LAGUIOLE STEAK KNIVES are for sale in many of the local French market stands.
KITCHEN TOWELS by Garnier-Thiebaut.
Discover more from French Word-A-Day
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I’d highly recommend Colette’s novel (1923) Le Blé en Herbe, slim, translations (and film) available, unforgettable and I have re-read many times. Variously translated (the title) but often as The Ripening Seed. If you read French, it’s not too demanding but even in translation it is so evocative of place, time and people. I really envy anyone who has yet to read it for the first time. You might also like Bonjour Tristesse (Francoise Sagan), translations and film available. Again, the background is France, summer, youth, dreams – a novel where you can lose yourself.
Merci JM–love the bi lingual ! Also sweet video…
What a fun story, Kristi! New words for me are tasser, les bourgeons and regalees (sorry, no accent marks on my keyboard). What a welcome site it must have been to see those sheep. Do the sheepherders camp out at night to stay with the flock? It strikes me as a profession that must be handed down through the generations. Your pictures are beautiful, as usual!
Ellen, Thank you for these words! I will add them to the list. Yes, the shepherd sleeps in his van, not far from wherever his sheep sleep.
Thank you, Margaret, for recommending Le Blé en Herbe by Colette. Good to learn about it.
For those interested, here is the Kindle link
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00IDCFKSY/mdj-20
Quelle belle histoire! I love the expression (and image it evokes) of the bourgeons who are about to “pointer le bout de leur nez”
.
Kristi — What a great story about weeding the old-fashioned way. And I especially enjoyed reading it in both English and French and watching the video. Three words I would choose would be “je m’apprêtais,” se régaler, and tailler. Merci et bon WE!
Thank you for your efforts and making such a beautiful and useful newsletter. The word I liked the most was: surtout.
Always a pleasure to see a new post–whether from Kristi or Jean-Marc. In context here, “mild” would be a better translation for “doux.”
Enjoy those wild poppies for me! I have never seen them here in the Midwest.
Thank you, Barbara. Very helpful! I will add *doux* and *mild* to the next Roundup, too 🙂
Thanks, Hadi. Happy to see your note.
The missing word: la transhumance
Exacte!
Kristi and Jean-Marc,
I love your side-by-side stories. It’s wonderful to learn vocabulary and authentic expressions in the interesting, cultural context of everyday life. Hearing J-M read aloud is a real help to me as a 2nd language learner.
For your Vocab Round-up: se faire du soucis
Bonjour Krisin et Jean-Marc! I enjoy your side-by-side work! My mot nouveau for the day was “la débroussailleuse à main”, not so practical, but fun to learn! I’ll try to tuck it in the back of my brain for the next time I’m visiting my friends in Bretagne who have a big yard! I’m also happy to know that you were able to get some sheep in there to help with the vineyard!
Kristi:
Merci for these bilingual posts as it is a good chance for those of us who are behind
the learning curve to practice and read for comprehension.
Our French conversation group here has really enjoyed our last two meetings as we had
French visitors from Alsace. So nice to hear the language spoken by native speakers!
Edie from Savannah
Our dear Kristi and Jean Marc,
Thank you both for such a wonderful (and educational!) post today.
It is truly a tie between listening to JM reading words for the Vocabulary Roundup,and Kristi’s beautiful pictures; oh!
no better way to start the day!
I just could not pick a favorite word!
I agree with Margaret’s reading suggestions,though,especially Bonjour Tristesse.Our former neighbor was friends with Francoise Sagan
and shared some great memories about her!
Love
Natalia. xo
Love the French/English translation…feel s like I am in French class again….pics are “pic-perfect”!!! Ditto Barbara b. Thank U both so much!
My first thought when I saw that sheep were in the vineyard was that they had eaten all the vines. Au contraire, what a happy occasion! At one time I was quite into “transhumance” while in France. I’m trying to recollect why, but I think I looked it up when attending a French language school in the country on a street with no name, but which was a link on a map as part of a long transhumance highway (or some such).
“Tondeuse” translates not only as “lawn mower” but also as “clippers” or, in my case, “beard trimmer.” I once had to replace my tondeuse in France and had a most unusual experience. Here’s the story:
My beard trimmer broke so I went to buy a new one at the Intermarché supermarket. I found it on the same aisle that had hair dryers and curling irons and things like that. Except that the beard trimmers were kept in a locked cabinet. Quoi?
I tracked down a clerk and asked her to unlock the cabinet so I could get the one I wanted, one that only cost about twenty bucks. She took it out but wouldn’t give it to me – no, no, that would not be secure, monsieur! Beard trimmers must follow a special security procedure!
I think it must be like the one for a nuclear weapons factory.
First, I was told to go to the “Special Bureau” at the front of the store. I did that, expecting the lady there to give me the beard trimmer so I could go pay. Oh no, monsieur! That would not be secure! Instead, she gave me a long code to hand to the clerk in the checkout line.
This mystified the poor clerk, who must only deal with women, children and clean-shaven men. But eventually we sorted it out. I paid him and got another piece of paper, this one with a new code, to take back to the Special Bureau.
At this point, I was nervously expecting a retinal scan or maybe a cavity search, but thankfully I got my beard trimmer.
I asked the lady at the Special Bureau why beard trimmers were kept locked up while the much more expensive hair dryers were not. She looked around carefully, leaned forward and said in a low voice, “Because of the thieves!”
Yes, it seems that beard trimmers were the most-stolen items in Intermarché stores nationwide, thus prompting the lockdown. I thanked her for this important news and held the trimmer tightly, scanning the parking lot as I walked carefully to my car.
Later I thought, is this really the best way to deal with the nationwide epidemic of beard trimmer robberies? Is French society well served by having its thieves unable to trim their beards, eventually looking like refugees from a ZZ Top concert? Maybe I should lead the other men in town for a protest march, a very French thing to do.
After trimming my beard, of course.
* This is from my book One Sip at a Time: Learning to Live in Provence.
really enjoy the bi-lingual stories. I first try to read and understand, then read and pronounce properly, then listen to Jean-Marc and see how much I understand the spoken word and how much I have butchered the pronunciation. Here are the three words I absolutely did not know and think that perhaps each could have alternate meanings or uses. Griffe , facon, and le bout.
I too love these bilingual stories. They help the learner see how the words and phrases are used in different contexts and with other constructions. Please continue! One of my favorite French words is “sauvage,” which simply means “wild,” not “savage.” Or maybe it means “savage” too?
Dear Kristin,
First, thank you for the years of enjoyment that you have given not only to me, but, to many others.
I have a question, please…why does the expression, “le bouche-à-oreilles (oreille)”, use the “le” and not the “la” in front of the feminine noun “bouche”? Maybe it is just the mystère de la langue française !!!
I thought there was perhaps a rule that governed such a situation….
Thank you for any help…Marcel
Dear Kristi and Jean-Marc,
I, too, love the bi-lingual posts and listening to J-M.s reading. As per your request I noted a few words that were new to me: les griffes, tasser, atteler, tailler, la debroussailleuse à main, and fastidieux (a false friend?). Keep writing and photographing! Both are exceptional and inspiring! Merci! Liz
Very well written story! You asked for terms not familiar to us… I had not heard the expression “qui plus est.” (More importantly)
I live in the southwest of France, also with a Frenchman!
Hey Kristi, long time no comment! Along with the photo of the sheep doing their thing, the French text says “Les chèvres sont deja passees…” The English text translated the “sheep had already gone by” but “chèvres ” are not sheep, they are goats!
Just keeping you real…
Love to Provence
LOVED this post, Kristi, certainly one of the best ever! Jean-Marc’s reading, the oh-so-helpful translation, your photos, the clip — makes me homesick for Provence. It certainly reminded me how very hard you two work, and how well you work together.
Thanks, Young, for the helpful correction. Off to fix it now…
Merci! Could you explain how this phrase is used – m’être fait du soucis ?
There was a sea-change in French cooking in the 17th-century, led in part by Francois Pierre de la Varenne – when cooks/chefs rejected the use of Medieval spices – saffron, cinnamon, clove, ginger, cumin, etc. – that masked flavors, and began using fresh herbs to enhance the natural flavors of food. The first “restaurant” supposedly opened in Paris by a fellow named Boulanger in 1765 has been disputed, but the Grande Taverne de Londres did open in 1782. After the Revolution decimated the population of aristocrats, scores of private cooks were left unemployed… and about 1810, they began opening cafes and restaurants, starting a restaurant culture that remains in place today. Many legendary restaurants operated all through the 19th-century, while the Bourbons tried to re-establish their monarchy, sparked in 1830 and again in 1848. Baron von Haussmann’s rebuild of the city, 1853-to-1870, from a stinking Medieval slum, into a modern urbia, was designed in part so the masses would not have anywhere to hide, should they wish to revolt again. The 1889 World’s Fair, marked by Eiffel’s tower that horrified Parisians at the time, marked the end of the Age of Revolution, and ushered the City of Light into the modern world. Of course who can imagine Paris without La Tour Eiffel. Interesting tales.