French Word-A-Day

joyeux

My daughter, Jackie, just turned 5 when this word journal began. Here she is at eleven... helping Braise (brez) get dressed for the party!

Today marks the 6th anniversary of this French word journal. Party time!

*Note: the next word goes out on November 5th. (...not because we will need time to recover from the fête... but because we will be spending time with the kids, who are on school break again...).

joyeux, joyeuse (zhwa-yuh, zhwa-yuhz) adjective
    : cheerful, merry, joyful

Listen to my daughter's message, and to the French word "joyeux": Download joyeux.wav.Download joyeux.mp3



I have another confession: I have never been good at événementiel (or "event organization"). Jean-Marc planned our wedding, each and every detail (contacted the French priest, ordered the flowers, selected the menu, had the rings engraved, and all but tried on the long white gown & satin-trimmed veil for me).

The "big day" found his blushing bride-to-be tripping over a street grate, late for a very important date! I have been trying to make up for that unforgettable entrance ever since: by continuing to "réviser" a simple lesson from my husband: relax and enjoy life and, especially, celebrate the milestones!

Today marks the 6th anniversary of this French word journal and I am ready to celebrate this joyful event. I've ordered the flowers (okay, I swiped several from "Mama Jules"), and selected the menu: a sweet and savory buffet of words.

Now listen up: this is where you come in--and not as a clumsy bride!:

I would like to ask you to share a word or two... about yourself. Are you an 85-year-old collector of Southwestern art? Or a new mother, up to her ears in dirty diapers? Are you in a marching band? Do you read this word journal in school? Are you famous? ...or infamous? (or related to someone that is?). Do you speak more than two languages? Can you make your ears move?

Do you suspect you are the youngest on this list--or the oldest? Are you a tattoo artist or do you dabble in watercolor? Have you invented something? Do you like frogs legs or are you carrément contre la cuisine des cuisses de grenouilles? Do you have an unusual skill? Are you involved in a charity? Have you written a book and do you want to "buzz it" here? Are you shy? Ever won a prize? Do you have a blog or site and would you like to tell us where to find you on the web?

All in all, just a line or two about you... s'il vous plaît! Meantime, thank you for reading this word journal, and for helping to create a community as we move into our seventh year: one sweet and savoury word at a time.

Thank you very much for sharing your story in the comments box.

Note: having trouble posting? Please send your message to me (kristin.espinasse AT gmail.com ) with a "request to post" in the subject line. Include how you would like your name to appear. I will try to post your message in the next week.

PS: to share your photo: check out the French Word-A-Day group at Facebook.

yalla

Sunflowers for Soeur Emmanuelle

Please excuse today's non-conformist (... that is: not conforming to the usual blog) format but this is a special edition, devoted to a special, non-conformist French nun. To hear today's word, check out the first and last video (a music video with Calogero Maurici) at the end of this post.


::::::::::::::::::::::::: Y A L L A ! :::::::::::::::::::::::::

True, today's word is Arabic. I hope you'll allow that, just this once. After all, it was her favorite word. She who loved all people, especially the poor, to whom she devoted her life.

"Soeur Emmanuelle" was a French nun, well known as one of France's favorite personnages.* Born "Madeleine Cinquin" in Belgium, at the age of 22 she left her dancing shoes behind--along with that devilish grin (ah, men!)--took her vows, changed her name and became a professeur.*

Diplômée* in Philosophy at the Sorbonne, she went on to teach in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia. Though she taught Literature and Philosophy, such intellectual heights never interfered with her street smarts which kept her--and her giant heart--close to the pavement: the pavement that is pauvreté:* cold, walked upon, fragile and cracked... and littered with trash. Trodden and overlooked, this "pavement" was something she would never let herself forget.

Poverty... ignited a revolt within her, leading to her outspokenness, to her famous "franc-parler,"* which often ruffled the feathers of her frères* and led to her being labelled an "enquiquineuse": a veritable pain in the neck, a pro-action pest!

 

Her appearance did not betray her values. From those two large bobby pins haphazardly stuck to each side of her veiled head... to the track shoes on her feet (over the thick socks and nylons), one could surmise that she was in a hurry to catch up with one ever-menacing foe: Destitution.

Which brings us smack back to the pavement and to those poubelles.* You might say (in a chuckling way) that trash defined her. She might have been "Soeur Chiffonnière,"* for she "housed" herself next door to the trash gatherers, or "zabbaleen" (many of whom are children), in one of Cairo's worst slums, where she settled after her "retirement". Troisieme âge,* for her, would be spent in combat, always a "combat du coeur": from the heart, for the helpless.

There in a lice- and rat-ridden bidonville,* home for her was a 4-meter square room--without water, without electricity. According to* Dr. Mounir Neamatalla, a leading Egyptian expert in environmental science and poverty reduction:

"She was living right among them, the garbage collectors, the pigs, the whole mess. I had never seen anything like this in my life... You could see one of the worst qualities of life on the planet, but in this inferno was an enterprising population that worked like ants."

Working side-by-side with "les misérables"* Sister Emmanuelle advanced toward her goal, raising money to build schools and hospitals. She also created vegetable gardens for the poor to nourish themselves. Her roommate, Sister Sara (see second video, below), spoke of her character, saying that when a problem arose, Soeur Emmanuelle exclaimed: "On va foncer!"* to which Sara softly suggested that they might first pray for guidance and direction. For Sister Emmanuelle, "direction" seemed to be something you sought after first jumping to your feet!

So is it any wonder that, asked about her favorite word, Sister Emmanuelle shouted with glee: "Yalla!" Asked to translate the word, she responded, "En avant!"

Amen, Sister! "Forward march" all the way. Your lumière* may have gone out on Sunday, just three weeks shy of your centième* birthday, but your legacy lights our consciences today...and tomorrow--and for as far into the future as the pest that is poverty stretches its condemning claws. Thank you for showing us that a selfless heart, coupled with awareness, is just not enough. It also takes yalla (yalla-yalla-yalla!) to relieve misery. First we must jump to our feet... then inquire about those directions.

 

***

PS: Soeur Emmanuelle, I have a confession. As a child, I looked up to movie stars (Shirley Temple, The Bionic Woman), as a teen, I admired glamorous runway models (Paulina Porizkova, Estelle Lefébure) as a young woman I pined over literary figures (it didn't really matter who they were, if they were writers I pined). I just want you to know, Chère Soeur, that while you didn't have the strength of Lindsay Wagner or Paulina's perfect posture -- I'm finally beginning to realize that, more than celebrity or vanity fair, it's really all about what's "in there"... and it is going to take a lot of big hearts to fill those little track shoes of yours, and to keep moving "en avant!" 

For more information on Soeur Emmanuelle's charity: visit www.asmae.fr

Comments, corrections, conseils... welcome here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
le personnage (m) = character, individual; le professeur (m) = teacher; diplômé(e) (from "diplômer" = to award a diploma); la pauvreté (f) = poverty; le franc-parler (m) = outspokenness; le frère (m) = brother (religious); la poubelle (f) = trash or garbage can; chiffonnier (chiffonnière) = rag picker; le troisième âge (m) = retirement; le bidonville (m) = shanty town; according to = excerpt from a report by Perrine Latrasse, Associated Press; les misérables (mf) = the destitute; on va foncer! = Charge! (Let's get to it!); la lumière (f) = light; centième = one hundredth

 

Soeur Emmanuelle: "Il ne faut jamais s'arrêter dans la vie, il faut toujours courir, s'acharner."

veinard

A cautionary word to our dog, Braise (right): That's no way to treat a (potential) lover. Learn the whole story in the column, below.

*     *     *

My sister, Heidi, will be participating in a march for breast cancer. She is walking on behalf of our mother, Jules, our Aunt Charmly, and Tante Marie-Françoise who are breast cancer survivors. Please check out Heidi's progress (at http://no-cancer.notlong.com ) in raising funds for breast cancer research... and maybe pitch in a few dollars, whatever you can, while you're there? Mille mercis.

veinard,e (veh-narh, veh-narhd) noun, masculine, feminine

    : lucky dog, lucky devil

[from the French "veine" (vein), from the Latin "vena"]

adjective: lucky

Audio File: listen to the French word veinard and veinarde: Download veinard.wav. Download veinard.mp3



by Kristin Espinasse

When our golden retriever went into heat last month, I learned a thing or two about her romantic heart. En bref,* Braise is no uptown girl.

This all became clear the day a toothless bâtard* came calling. The scruffy, unemployed chien* might have been missing an eye, for all I know (barroom brawl?)... that untamed black mop on his head made it hard to tell.

"Mr. Black Dog," as my mom affectionately called him, was hardly taller than Braise's ankles. But that didn't disqualify him... from putting a bun in the oven.

"Mais, chéri," Jean-Marc chuckled, trying to reason with me, "nothing will happen. It's impossible!"

Locking the front door and latching the shutters, I was, once again, struck by my husband's naiveté.
"Oh, you'd be surprised!" I snapped back, eyeing our tattered trespasser, whose wet nose was pressed up against the porte-fenêtre.*

"Va-t-en!"* I shouted, from behind the window. "Allez! Oust!"*

I tried to see the positive side of an eventual "accident": Labradoodles!* Tried, that is, until Jean-Marc confirmed that the small black dog with the curly black mop on its head was NOT a caniche.*"

For two weeks straight, bright and early each morning -- a flurry of chicken feathers in his wake (and complaints from the hens who had begun their day-long "puttering and pecking" through the grapevines) -- Mr Black Dog left the neighboring farm, took a shortcut across the bright yellow mustard field, past Monsieur Delhomme's potager (now teeming with pumpkins), and arrived at our kitchen door... the happy-go-lucky "bachelor" limping like a poivrot* all the way.

His legs were so short he barely needed to lift one to leave his mark, and leave his mark he did (sprinkling little "forget-me-nots" all over the front yard). Braise was lovesick and all but fluffed her hair and powdered her own wet nose at the first glimpse of that unemployed underdog.

We did our best to keep the dogs separated; after all, we had plans of our own...

Samuel de Vichyssoise, a.k.a. "Sam", (a "blue-blooded" golden retriever and our "arranged suitor") eventually arrived, having traveled all the way from his aristocratic flat on the Rue de Paradis in Marseilles.

But things didn't go at all as planned... and we were dumbstruck by our golden girl's ghastly welcome: Braise sneered. Braise jeered. The golden boy, to our "girl," was no more than a stuffy "Earl". It seemed Braise's heart was agog for none other than the toothless, limping underdog.

And now, as all soap operas must end with a cliffhanger... I'll let you in on a secret. Just when we thought our dog had done away with the "Earl of Marseilles" (for the purposes of this story, we'll allow a British earl into this French fable)... it seemed the two had disappeared... into a stack of hay. Oh, dear!

The only question now is "a-t-elle une brioche au four?"* and, if so, WHO is the virile veinard?*

***
PS: My apologies for not having a photo of Mr. Black Dog. For now, enjoy "Braise's Sneer" (photo number one) and "Braise's Happy (at last) Cavalier" (photo number two). Click to enlarge photo.

Comments, corrections,* conseils... welcome in the comments box.

*Thank you, Judith Urbanek, for the grammar help (re: my "vas-t-en"). See Judith's message at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
en bref = briefly; bâtard(e) = mutt; le chien (la chienne) = dog; la porte-fenêtre (f) = French window; allez! oust! = go on! get out of here!; poivrot(e) = drunk, wino; labradoodle = a labrador-poodle mix update: make that a "goldendoodle"; un caniche (m) = poodle; avoir une brioche au four = to have a bun in the oven; veinard(e) (mf) = lucky dog

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Other ways to say "bun in the oven" (être enceinte) in French

"avoir un p'tit pain dans le four"
"être en cloque"
"avoir le ballon"
"avoir le gros ventre"
"avoir un polichinelle dans le tiroir"

 

Would anyone like to help translate those idioms? Thanks for using the comments box.

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In music: Paris' Most Beautiful Songs
Made in Provence: Savon et Cie Bath Salts: in calm/soothing lavender
French Alphabet Blocks -- complete with letters, numbers and animal pictures
Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love & Language


A Little Grammar Lesson in French and English:
(Sharing with you a letter that I received from Judie)

Dans l'impératif, pour le singulier (juste pour les verbes en -ER) on omet le S.  Par exemple: Va-t'en! (comme dans ton histoire ci-dessous) ou Regarde l'oiseau là-bas!  

Pour d'autres verbes le S reste.  Par exemple--Finis tes devoirs!  Descends lentement ce vieil escalier!

Bonne chance avec ta chienne!

Amitiés du Wisconsin,
Judie

In the imperative, for the singular (and only for verbs in -ER), we omit the S. For example: Va-t-en! (as in your story, above) or Regarde l'oiseau là-bas! For other verbs, the S stays. For example: Finis tes devoirs! Descends lentement ce vieil escalier!

Good luck with your dog!

Warm regards from Wisconsin,
Judie

pot

Thank you! (A jug of thanks, and more, in today's story column.)

Note: the book section (in the left and right columns) changes "thrice-weekly" along with each new post. Look for French-themed novels, short stories, grammar books and more!

pot (poh) noun, masculine
    : pot, jug, can, tin, jar

[from low Latin "potus" (a pot), from the classical Latin "potus" (drink)]

"Un pot" can refer to a farewell party and "avoir du pot" means "to be lucky". There are over a dozen more terms and expressions at the end of this letter. Would you like to help to translate one or two? Thank you for sharing your answers in the comments box.

(Mini dialogue):
Me: Jean-Marc, do you have a minute to record tomorrow's word?
JM: I do... but I think people would appreciate hearing your voice from time to time.
Me: (gulps) Thanks for the encouragement.... (secretly relieved there are no French "r's" in today's word or expression):

Audio File: Listen to today's word and to this expression "pot à lait"
Download pot.mp3 . Download pot.wav



On Friday I asked readers to send my mom a virtual flower... and to share the French word for the flower-in-question. If the French equivalent was not known (for it isn't necessary to speak French -- or even to have a dictionary handy to participate), readers were encouraged to just go ahead and send in
their favorite fleur* for Jules. Meantime, as promised, I began to translate those first few terms that arrived via the comments box, where a lovely bouquet began to take shape....

Then a "black-eyed Susan" arrived... and just as I was considering "Les Yeux Noirs de Suzanne" (giddy to learn the name of a favorite flower... never mind that I had the French all wrong...), Jules fired up her computer, clicked over to her daughter's blog, and discovered her floral surprise! Mom quickly responded (via the petal-packed comments box) with a simple, tearful, ALL-CAPS remerciement.*  From that point on, my worries turned from flower translations... to how I, too, might thank you for all of the exotic and lovely flower combinations. From a poetic "Sahuaro blossoms floating in a clay bowl full of desert rain-water"... to those quirky "Kangaroo paws" (and, just this morning, a "une primevère de Mumbai"*), Jules's virtual bouquet grew and, as Mom would add, via all-caps, GREW!

In view of the unexpected response, I spent the weekend obsessing about how to express a heartfelt thanks for making my mom's wish come true.... until Aunt-Marie Françoise arrived on Sunday afternoon with a "pot à lait"* and, in-so-doing, unwittingly put a stop to my flower frenzy. The old-fashioned milk pail (a gift from her), with its muted aluminum body and unadorned handle, helped me to remember that a "thank you" needn't be polished like gold. The humble "pot à lait" hinted that a simple "merci beaucoup" is sometimes all it takes... to say thanks.

To Marie-Françoise's pot, I've added few branches of wild rosemary (collected from our afternoon walk through the garrigue*) and string of non-edible red berries for a Thank You composition (see today's photo) prepared just for you! And because Jules would love the chance to "vous re-remercier"*,
I've added a quince from her "collection"... I'll tell you THAT story another time.

 

***
PS: Did you miss the "baba cool" edition and want to send Mom a flower? Don't forget to mention the city from which you are sending your virtual fleur:

http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/motdujour/2008/10/baba-cool.html

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
une fleur (f) = flower; un remerciement (m) = thanks, thanking; une primevère (f) de Mumbai = a primrose from Mumbai; un pot (m) à lait = milk jug; la garrigue (f) = Mediterranean scrubland; vous re-remercier = to thank you again

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...Here's where you pitch in... and help to build our French Word Community

Terms to translate & to discuss via the comments box:

un petit pot (for baby...)
un pot de chambre
un plant en pot
un pot de colle
un pot à eau
un pot d'adieu
un pot de départ
un pot de terre
un coup de pot
plein pot (rouler plein pot)
un pot à bière
le pot d'échappement
le pot-au-feu
le pot-de-vin
le pot-de-vinier
poule au pot
le pot aux roses
le pot de yaourt
le pot au noir
la pot-bouille (may be an old term...)
le pot à feu
un pot d'accueil
...and what about le pot-pourri?

Expressions:
  avoir du pot
  manquer de pot
  tourner autour du pot
  payer plein pot
  payer les pots cassés
  tourner autour du pot
  "C'est le pot de terre contre le pot de fer"
  découvrir le pot aux roses
  mettre la poule au pot
  sourd comme un pot

Proverbs :
  On fait de bonne soupe dans un vieux pot.
  Un pot fêlé dure longtemps.

... don't forget to check back to the comments box for insights into these expressions. Many thanks for your translations and comments regarding these idioms and terms related to the French word "pot".

baba cool

My mom, Jules (her hands pictured here) was busy harvesting cosmos seeds up until her departure. She's gone home now, but the seeds are drying on my kitchen table--and they make me smile each time I walk past them.

baba cool (baba-kool) noun, masculine/feminine

    : hippy, flower child


The plural of baba cool is "babas cool".

    Il est baba- cool, respecte son gourou, et rejette la violence.
    He's a flower child, respects his guru, and rejects violence.

--from "Dictionary of French Slang and Colloquial Expressions"


Audio file: listen to Jean-Marc pronounce the French word baba cool and read the example sentence (above):  Download baba_cool.wav



My mom will be waking up any time now, having traveled 24 hours en voiture,* en avion* and à pied* to arrive home in Mexico.

Having kissed her goodbye at 3:30 a.m., Thursday morning (Jean-Marc took her to the airport in Marseilles for her 6 a.m. flight), I spent the twilight hours moping around the kitchen... until I received a surprise several hours later! In Amsterdam, during her first flight connection, Mom had sweet-talked a "darling" traveler with a laptop into letting her leave a message* for me on my blog.

Thankful for the unexpected sign that she sent me, I thought about the surprise that mom was hoping for. Mom had one wish (on arriving home): that the one she loves would be waiting for her, flowers in hand. I listened to Jules's wish, which she repeated over and over on the days leading up to her departure, and hoped that she might be happily surprised.

So as to get her husband off the hook (just in case he forgot to show up at the arrival gate, fleurs en main*), and, as a way to welcome Jules home--and to put a great smile on her face--I thought we might all take off our reader hats today... and put on our baba cool* headbands.

That's right: let's be flower children just for a day, and just for Jules.... I'd love for Mom to wake up this morning with a beautiful bouquet on her desk... when she logs on to her computer... and visits her daughter's webpage. 

Here's how I thought we might compose that flower arrangement--and it won't even cost us a penny!:

 1. Choose one French* flower to put into the virtual basket (we'll use the comments box for our fancy flower "vase").

2. Include the city that you are "sending" it from.

If you do not know the French name for your flower, no problem, just write the flower name in the comments box, along with the city you are "sending" it from, and allow me or another reader to translate it for you.

*by "French"... I mean the French equivalent of the flower. For example: un coquelicot (or poppy) for Jules from Maine... or "un oeillet jaune (a yellow carnation) from Beijing"....

Note: the flower does not have to be native to the area that you live in: you can send an entire Hawaiian orchid leis (virtual, bien sûr!) from Tempe, Arizona, if you like!

Have fun and be creative (invent your own flower, if you so fancy), and thank you for your help (or should I simply say "Peace and Love" to you?!).

Signed,
Ze Flower Chick en France.

~~~~~~~~~~~~References~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
en voiture = by car; en avion = by airplane; à pied = on foot; message (see Mom's message): http://coucou.notlong.com ; fleurs en main = flowers in hand; baba cool = hippy, flower child


When you order through Amazon, via the following links, you help to support this French word journal -- soon in it's 7th year of publication!... and always free. Please note that the book lists (see left and right columns) are renewed "thrice-weekly", along with the posts.

Country French Florals & Interiors

St.Brigid Anemone Windflowers 15 Bulbs - Double Flowers (because Jules tells me "plant bulbs, plant bulbs!" and enjoy them this Spring!)

Stone (Granite) Mortar and Pestle -- a must for French pistou!

Printed in French, Cuisine Et Vins De France features dozens of recipes in each issue along with articles on wine, cheese, appetizers, table decorations, and more. 

 

Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language