Welcome to our New Frontières “Culture-Concierge” blog page, providing you with frequently updated and useful tips about life in France .
This is your dedicated page for tips and advice on settling smoothly and getting the most fulfilling experience in your new community in France.
Watch out for new content features as we share linguistic, idiomatic and cultural pointers with all; whether you’re entirely new or a long-stay visitor who’s got some conversational French.
For instance, the “Culture-Concierge” page will help you understand, with examples, why in France some things seem to be differently done than what you expected.
You’ll also learn about how the French language uses some identical words in a completely different way to English (false friends).
As a plus, we’ll show you how best to avoid some misunderstandings or awkward situations.
Over time, the Culture-Concierge will provide you with valuable keys to being a good neighbor and to making the most of your new life in your local French community .
Follow the feed and enjoy learning!
False Friends
False Friends We’ll start our blog feed with a series of articles about linguistic “False Friends” or “Faux-Amis”. The French and English languages have many false friends and one can only imagine the opportunities for miscommunication and tripping oneself up that could arise from the misuse of these treacherously false friends. Our first entry:
According to Collins English dictionary©, a false friend is a word or expression in one language that, because it resembles one in another language, is often wrongly taken to have the same meaning.
French Humour, humeur : (UK) humour or (US) humor You are in a good mood in English is said in French “Vous êtes de bonne humeur”. You have a great sense of humour is said in French “Vous avez un bon sens de l’humour”.
Two mistakes to avoid here: firstly, to assume that your mood or humo(u)r in English is humour in French and secondly that humour and humeur are pronounced the same way!
Here are the two different pronunciations :
If you enjoyed reading our Culture-Concierge articles, stay tuned for a new one coming up!
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