for my french

une pâtisserie = a pastry

la crème = cream

la crème fouettée, la chantilly = whipped cream

une tarte = a pie

un gâteau = a cake

une recette = a recipe

la pâte = dough

un biscuit = a cookie, a biscuit

la farine = flour

le sucre = sugar

la vanille = vanilla

un bol = a bowl

un four = an oven

une poêle = a pan

le goût = taste

Read in your TL, or if that’s too hard, read a book set in the country or a non-fiction book about the culture

Try cooking a meal from your TL’s culture

Play a sport that’s popular in your TL’s culture

Learn the traditional dance of your TL’s culture (if the culture is happy to share their traditional dance with outsiders)

Listen to traditional/folk music from your TL. Bonus if you can find a vinyl record of it or go to a live concert!

Journal in your TL

Look at art from your TL’s culture (maybe you could even go to an art exhibition for artists from your TL country!)

Sing in your TL

If you play an instrument, learn to play a song from your TL’s culture

Learn an instrument unique or common to your TL’s culture

Do a yoga video in your TL

la guerre de sécession- ‘the war of succession’ american civil war 

la guerre civile américaine- american civil war (often just ‘the civil war’ in american english)

les états-uni d’amérique ‘l’union’ (nord, yankee, uniforme bleu)- the united states of america (the union) 

les états confédérés d’amérique ‘la confederation’ (sud, uniforme gris)- the confederate states of america (the confederacy)

l’esclavage- slavery

un blocus naval- naval blockade

la marche vers la mer (de sherman)- (sherman’s) march to the sea 

un.e abolitionniste- abolitionist 

sanglant.e- bloody

faire sécession- to succeed 

TLDR of the war

Abraham Lincoln was elected with zero votes from the south, like he wasn’t on the ballot, cause he was viewed as an anti slavery candidate. When he won (which he did, he got more votes than any other candidate despite being on only half the ballots) it pissed off a lot of southern states who succeeded (or left the union) beginning with south carolina. 

fighting broke out over an american military base (fort sumter) and that was the beginning of the actual war.

A lot of new military tech and tactics that wouldn’t be seen in europe until world war one (trench warfare, proto total war, new gun tech) causing the war to be super hella bloody.

The south had less resources than the north, and once the north got their shit together leadership wise they started to win. The south eventually surrendered at appomattox court house in 1865, four years after the start of the war.

à â ç è é ê ë î ï ô ù û ü

une cellule de base de la société – fundamental unit of society

un lien de parenté - family relationship

la parenté - affinity

une alliance - kinship

une filiation – direct line of descent

le système familial - family system

apparenté - related

ancestral - traditional, age-old

la famille adoptive - foster family

la famille biologique - biological family

la famille nucléaire - nuclear family

la famille élargie = la famille multigénérationnelle - extended family

la famille proche - immediate family

la famille nombreuse - large family

la famille monoparentale - one-parent family

la famille recomposée - stepfamily

la famille homoparentale - family with same-sex parents

le géniteur = le père biologique - biological father

la génitrice = la mère biologique - biological mother

la descendance - descent

les descendants - descendants

les ascendants - ancestors

les alliés - allied family members

le gendre = le beau-fils - son-in-law

la bru = la belle-fille - daughter-in-law

le grand-père paternel/maternel - paternal/maternal grandfather

la grand-mère paternelle/maternelle - paternal/maternal grandmother

aux temps de mes grands-parents - back in my grandparents’ day

aux temps anciens - in the old day

l’arrière-grand-parent - great-grandparent

dériver de qch - to stem from sth

qch est dotée de qch - sth is equipped with sth

l’épanouissement social – social development

légué par testament - left in one’s will

le concubinage - common-law marriage

à l’essai - on a trial basis

qch est en augmentation - sth is on the increase

c’est un cercle vicieux - it’s a vicious circle

le même schéma est reproduit - the same pattern of behaviour is repeated

rester en bons termes - to stay on good terms

le consentement mutuel - mutual agreement

par consentement mutuel - by mutual consent

la procédure de divorce - divorce process

le compromis - compromise, concession

vivre sous le même toit - to live under the same roof

la génération - generation

le conflit des générations - generational conflict

l’opposition - conflict

épouser qn - to marry sb

être admis par la famille de son époux/son épouse - to be welcomed into the family of one’s spouse

prendre conscience de qch - to realize sth

faire prendre conscience de qch à qn = sensibiliser qn à qn - to raise someone’s awareness of an issue

l’autorité parentale - parental rights, custody

les rapports dans le couple - the relationship between partners

égalitaire - egalitarian

le mouvement féministe - feminist movement

prendre une décision en commun - to make a decision together

évoluer vers qch - to move onto sth

associer - to combine sth

le choix conscient - conscious choice

la résidence - residence, place where you live

la demeure - house, home

le ménage - household

le foyer - household

avoir gain de cause - to win the case

discuter un problème - to discuss an issue

aborder la question de qch - to address an issue of sth

la prédilection pour qch - preference

l’union libre - free union

validé par la loi - regulated by law

un lien indissoluble - unbreakable bond

admettre des exceptions - to allow for exceptions

imposer qch - to impose sth

le modèle de garde des enfants - model of custody

la garde alternée des enfants - joint custody of the kids

livrer les enfants à eux-mêmes - to leave the children to their own devices

alternativement - in turns

la séparation - separation

le système de partage - sharing system

qch découle de qch - sth stems from sth

De quoi décule cette mutation dans le modèle familial ? - Where does this change in family type stems from?

l’évolution des moeurs - social changes, change in attitudes

la coutume = les mœurs - customs

la vie de couple - coupledom

le couple moderne - modern couple

le couple traditionnel - traditionnal couple

le monde est en constante mutation - the world changes all the time

le modèle familial - family model, family type

le travail féminin - female labour

la femme au foyer - housewife

l’homme au foyer - househusband

une activité dite virile - an acitivity considered to be reserved for men

une activité dite féminin - an acitivity considered to be reserved for women

pour le meilleur et pour le pire - for better or for worse

se contenter de qch - to settle for sth

partiel - partial

attendre de qn - to expect from sb

affectif - emotional

éventuellement - potentially

dans tous les domaines - in all areas

au nom de qch - in the name of sth

aries: bélier

taurus: taureau

gemini: gémeaux

cancer: cancer

leo: lion

virgo: vierge

libra: balance

scorpio: scorpion

sagittarius: sagittaire

capricorn: capricorne

aquarius: verseau

If you can`t make your own examples to a grammar rule, you don`t know this grammar rule.

Learning words without context is almost useless. You may repeat something like “road” or “deeply” millions of times and still forgetting them in the most important situations. Memorize phrases instead. e. g. “I crossed the road” and “to be deeply ashamed”.

Prioritize. There are almost 500 000 words in the English language and even more in some non-European languages. If you decide to learn 5 words a day, you`ll need a shitload of time to cover at least the third of the whole vocabulary. So, know precisely what words are the most frequent and the most important for you personally.

No, you won`t learn a language by listening to songs ONLY.

If your level of knowledge is Intermediate or higher, you don`t need the fucking subtitles. Well, in the beginning, you will have a terrible headache and doubts about the whole thing, but every video will be making you a little better. You`ll slowly get used to the accents and intonation. It`ll stop to sound like the endless phrase without any pauses. Just give yourself some time.

Translation from the native language to the target language is useless (if you`re not going to become an interpreter). Write the short texts in your target language instead.

Forget about boring topics from the textbooks. Argue with somebody in the comment section under your fav YouTube videos. Try to persuade me that the Earth is flat (I know it`s insane, but you`ll remember it much better than writing the essay “The current problems of ecology”). Rewrite your own posts. Write down 15 phrases do describe Donald Trump. I mean… Everything is better than a standard way of learning that doesn`t express your inner self. 

Check the pronunciation of ALL the words. ALL the time. Your intuition is a great tool. However, it doesn`t cure all the irregular cases. Just look at English words “daughter” and “laughter”, “head” and “heat”, “though” and “thought”. They look almost similar but they sound in ABSOLUTELY different ways. There`s a possibility that your target language also has a lot of such cases. Just spend few seconds on looking at the transcriptions. It doesn`t hurt, I promise.

“Mal de/au...”

In French, we use “mal de” in many sentences to express a lot of emotions! Here I give you not the ones where you express body pain but other things!

Mal de tête : Headache (Okay only one body pain cause it’s important hehe)

Mal de mer : Seasick

Mal de l’air : Sick when flying

Mal au coeur : Heartbreaking (as in the expression “ca fait mal au cœur”) Could also be used to literally express heart ache

Mal du pays : Homesick

5.13.19

I have been reading Call Me By Your Name in French to strengthen my vocabulary and reading comprehension. I’ve been underlining and circling words and adding them to my AMPTN (CMBYN) vocabulary list. Here are some words that I’ve learned recently that I think sum up Call Me By Your Name:

Désinvolture: casualness, offhandedness, indifference

Brusquerie: abruptness, brusqueness

Irréfléchie: thoughtless, reckless, instinctive, irrational

Négligemment: carelessly, negligently, flippantly

Se prélasser: to lounge, luxuriate

Amadouer: coax, cajole, wheedle, soften

Couver: to brood, overprotect, gaze lovingly at

S’enticher: become infatuated with, fall for