A lot has happened since last I wrote here. These are some of the stand-out stories of the past six months:
There’s a new Prime Minister of Canada, for one.… [Read More]
Category: French
In today’s follow-up to yesterday’s post about requiring French labels for specialty manufactured items, a little Quebec cafe near the border with Ontario has received a letter from the province’s French language authority saying the cafe’s Instagram posts must be in French–even though all their signage, menus, and Facebook posts are solely in French.… [Read More]
As language regulations tighten, manufacturers may be saying “adieu” to Quebec
As the 2025 deadline for compliance with Bill 96 creeps closer, retailers and manufacturers are signaling their anxiety about the possible effects.… [Read More]
Categories
Donkey Backs
I read the news in French every morning to build my vocabulary and keep apprised of local goings-on.
As a result of this article (it’s in French only, sorry) about a cyclist who was injured after sliding on a newly-painted pedestrian crossing, today I learned the term dos d’ânes, or “donkey backs.”… [Read More]
A subtle cultural layer you discover in a new city is the locally-sourced humor, i.e. the local problems that are joked about by the people who live there. Per my post yesterday about the Grand Prix, Dan Ramos Comedy posted the above graphic on Reddit with the headline, “I Fixed the F1 Poster.”… [Read More]
We haven’t gone on about it too much here on the blog, but when we moved into this furnished apartment it was a *disaster.* Filthy from the drawers to the floors, broken appliances, an unmade bed with a pile of crumbs on the chair next to it….just… [Read More]
Categories
Not My Circus….
The word “clown” is the same in English and in French. I had need to look it up because, well….look at the world we live in.
That is all.
P.S. You can also say “farceur” or “pitre” instead of “clown,” but the preferred word in French is “clown” nonetheless.
Those of you who spent time in L.A. during the 80’s-90’s musical heyday of KCRW probably remember Chuck Taggart‘s show “Gumbo,” which was canceled when KCRW went from being a local public-radio station to being the golden goose of NPR.… [Read More]
Canada’s not only putting explicit health-harm warnings on cigarette packages, but printing them on each cigarette’s rolling paper too–in English and in French. I suppose if you’re going to suck in nicotine and tobacco particulates, ya might as well huff that fine, fine, toxic burnt ink residue too.… [Read More]
Categories
Protecting the Language
Canada is constitutionally a bilingual nation, and there are laws to protect that status. For example, all prepackaged food products sold in Canada must be properly labeled in both official languages.… [Read More]