This word, rendez-vous, has an exciting history and it was borrowed into the English language centuries ago. In fact, as early as 1556, we can find this word in the History & Antiquities of Hengrave, Suffolk (1). Even then, the English (le anglais) enjoyed throwing French words around. Go figure that many who want to…
As I continue my adventure to learn French, I wonder just how many French words have made it into English. As a near-native English speaker, I realized that this could serve as a handy shortcut to make a mental connection between some English and French words. Or, to simply focus more on English words that…
It’s a funny thing when pushing oneself to learn a language. It makes perfect sense to try new words, entire sentences, and preferably in daily situations. But then, what to do when you run out of words. Case in point: I had practised the sentence J’ai engagé la conversation pour casser le silence to my…
This fun phrase is often combined with shrugging shoulders and gazing off to the side. In English we say “It is what it is”, but c’est la vie certainly has more panache (or, flamboyance). For us who are passionate about language, and of course, French in particular, this could be one of the first phrases…