Did you know that France has a governing body for the French language? The Académie Française is the principal French council for matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Abolished in 1793 during the French Revolution, it was restored […]
Did you know that the little dots that appear above certain vowels (generally, ë, ï, and ü) actually serve a purpose? In most situations, the accent tréma (ë, ï, and ü) is indicating that the accented letter must be pronounced distinctly from the preceding vowel. Examples: Noël (Christmas) héroïne (heroine) ambigüe (ambiguous) As with all […]
Did you know that France will celebrate Pentecôte (Pentecost) this week on Sunday, June 8 and Monday, June 9? Pentecost is a public holiday in France that takes place 50 days after Easter, commemorating the day the holy spirit descended upon the apostles and caused them to speak in tongues. During Pentecost weekend (celebrated on […]
Did you know that France observes it’s third and final May public holiday this week? Thursday, May 29th is Jeudi de l’Ascension or Ascension Day, celebrating Christ’s ascension into heaven 40 days after Easter. It always takes place on a Thursday, but the date will vary based on the calendar each year. Many businesses also […]
Did you know that the funny “little hat” (^) symbol that can appear above any vowel (â, ê, î, ô, û) actually serves a purpose? The accent circumflex (^) can indicate a spelling change from Latin, a change to the pronunciation of “a, e, o”, and / or distinguish between words otherwise spelled the same. […]
Did you know that the funny little symbol under the letter « ç » changes the pronunciation of the “c”? Just as the accent « aïgu » above the letter « é », and the accent « grave » above the letter « è » are signals for the prononciation of the letter “e,” the […]
Did you know that during this week, France commemorates Victory in Europe Day? Thursday, May 8th is la Fête de la Victoire de 1945 (Victory in Europe Day). This French public holiday is also known as Jour de la Liberation, which marks Germany’s surrender in Reims, France in 1945. With this surrender, World War II […]
Did you know that with the arrival of the month of May this week, France looks forward to three public holidays? May 1st is la Fête du Travail (Labor Day), May 8th is la Fête de la Victoire de 1945 (Victory in Europe Day), and May 29th is l’Ascension (Ascension Day). I’ll give more info […]
Did you know that French accents are important to the pronunciation of words in French? You may think that you can get away with not using the accents, but you would be wrong about that. It’s important to at least try to get the pronunciation correct. The French will appreciate that you are trying. The […]
Did you know that this week has three holidays in France? Friday, April 18th is Good Friday, which is observed as a public holiday in Alsace and Moselle. As a holy day for practicing Catholics, Good Friday is typically honored with a day off work in France. The bells of churches are tied so they […]
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