French anglicisms and Stromae

This week I would like to share with you remarks about some of French anglicisms.

As we know, French neologisms are verified quite attentively by linguistic prescriptivist Académie française that recognize them officially or not. However, that is only official side of the phenomenon. The other side is an everyday language. Some words are just used and others not and there is no precise rule that might determine it. Just look at some of anglicisms and their French equivalents:

un week-end   -   une fin de la semaine

un dancefloor   -  une piste de danse

un e-mail   -  un courriel (éléctronique)

Those equivalents were made up to replace English words but it now both forms are in use! And it is not the case of those three ones. Interesting thing, “week-end” even figures in well-known CNRTL dictionary.

Another group of anglicisms are those concerning for example economy, that came into French in one specialized meaning (definitions from wiktionnaire), for example:

un meeting - (Travail) (Anglicisme) Réunion ou assemblée publique

un establishment - (Anglicisme) Groupe social oligarchique

 The next one concerns social networks, Internet portals and all sorts of sites about fashion, beauty etc. This is impressively  big group of the most recent anglicisms, for example:

un buzz, un look, un star, oversized, un shopping, un total look, un newsletter, un eye-liner, un hashtag

It is very easy to find expressions such as:

les looks que l’on aime – the looks we like

le look du jour – the look of the day

looks des stars – looks of stars

At the end I want to share with you a song of Stromae, a French-language singer that you certainly have heard of. The lyrics is about contemporary relationships between young people, and especially love, so it is not by accident that the song is entitled “Carmen”.  The first couplet is particularly worth reading because there are English words that young French surely recognize, even if official dictionaries not...

[couplet 1]

L'amour est comme l'oiseau de Twitter
On est bleu de lui, seulement pour 48h
D'abord on s'affilie, ensuite on se follow
On en devient fêlé, et on finit solo

Prends garde à toi
Et à tous ceux qui vous like
Les sourires en plastique sont souvent des coups d'hashtag
Prends garde à toi
Ah les amis, les potes ou les followers
Vous faites erreurs, vous avez juste la côte

Translation:

Love is like Twitter
You’re in love with  it only for 48 hours.
First you’re associated with it, and afterwards you follow
It becomes cracked and you end up alone.
Beware!
And beware of those who you like
Their plastic smiles are often hits by hashtag.
Beware!
Ah, friends, buddies, and followers
You’re making a mistake. It’s only a false popularity.

(lyricstranslate.com)

Regional baking goods - "obwarzanek"

Have you ever heard about obwarzanek? I’m sure the most of you have, but have you eaten it in Poznań? I haven’t, even if I had looked for it in some bakeries in the city, and its lack surprised me a lot. In fact, it is difficult to get it in this part of Poland. I remember that in my home town (I’m from the South-East Poland) it has been a common part of the assortment of every bakery - a “must-have”-  and I’m sure it still is.

The thing is that it is a regional product, registered on the list of European Union in 2010. Not much time ago, but the history of obwarzanek is very long – the first mention about it dates the 14^th century. It used to be baked exclusively on Lent in Cracow, but now it has no religious connotation. The other Slavic countries have similar types of baked goods, known under different names.

According to the restrictions of EU, obwarzanek "should be between 12 and 17 centimeters in diameter, weigh 80 to 120 grams and its color should range from golden to light brown". The ingredients include flour, fat, yeast, sugar, water and salt. Before baking, the dough is shortly boiled – “obwarzać” in old Polish, and that’s the word that originated obwarzanek. It has very characteristic shape – it’s made of an oblong twisted piece of dough that forms a circle. It may contain poppy seed, sesam or salt on top. It’s very tasty, slightly sweet and it may be eaten without other additions, just as a snack – and I suppose that’s the most common way of consuming it. It is possible to eat it as a roll, though – you have just cut it on longways and cover with honey, jam or cottage cheese.
 

Official language.

In reference to the last post on the blog “Romancing English”, I would like to respond to the question : Should those who choose to live in a foreign country be required to learn its official language?

This question seems very interesting to me, but also very complex and not evident at the same time. What is more, I consider it is impossible to give the one correct response because of a variety of factors that must be taken in consideration.

First of all, I think it is worth mentioning that those who choose to be naturalized have an obligation to know the official language of the state on a precise level, specified by law. That means there is no chance to avoid learning language as it is one of the conditions of the naturalization -  and not the only one, so not all foreigners try to obtain it, especially if they do not need it. I suppose the majority do not, and in that case it is up to them to learn the language or not.

When we live in a community, we must communicate with its other members. Language is one of frequent and precise ways of communication. If one do not know the language others speak, then the communication becomes much more difficult. That is the case of both private and official sphere of life. Let is imagine that there is an official document to sign or to fill in. To do that, it is necessary to understand the content and then write what is needed, which is impossible with no language skills! The important document respected by law then seems to be just a sheet of paper, full of bizarre and incomprehensible words.

With private life is even more difficult : how to spend time with people with whom one cannot communicate? Of course, it is possible to meet only family or friends who speak the same language, but on the other hand, the confrontation with indigenous residents is inevitable for those who live in a certain country longer period of time. Even acquaintance of some simple words or expressions may facilitate everyday life. It also arouses respect and kindness of indigenous residents.

However, not everyone is interested in learning an official language. How to cope with that? Some people have a spouse (or any other member of family, or a friend) who speaks the language and helps them, for some of them English is enough. But despite that, I would encourage everyone to not to ignore such a crucial aspect of social life as an official language.

The wikipedia short article - Janelle Monáe

Janelle Robinson (born 1985 in Kansas City), better known by her stage name Janelle Monáe  is an author and composer of the soul and R&B music. She studied in American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York with in order to start a career in music-hall, but finally turned to music. She has been nominated for Grammy Awards for her single Many Moons in 2009. She released one EP (Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase) in 2007) and 2 albums (The ArchAndroid in 2010, and The Electric Lady in 2013) yet and they were all well reviewed by publications devoted to music criticism. Her last album “Electric Lady” features songs recorded with other artists, such as Prince, Erykah Badu, Miguel and Solange.