I collect French words whenever I see them in a newspaper or magazine or one pops up in conversation. I make a list on the notes page in my diary. i divide the page up into letters of the alphabet. You could do the same.
Today's word is debonair. Like the air of a debutante, making her debut, confident, well-dressed.
Oh, dear. In the Sunday Times in an article on Roman orator Cicero I have just found the word arriviste. One who arrives. A bit like nouveau riche. Shades of jumped up.
Other words which popped up: Physique. (I'll give you an example: He walks around in the open air and runs and has a great physique.) Repertoire. (He is a good orator and has a huge repertoire of amusing stories.) Coup d'tat. (Unfortunately there was a coup d'etat.) Regime. (This resulted in a change of regime.)
If you are a meticulous or obsessive person, you could note the word down in your diary and list the source. At the end of the year you might be able to collate the results along the lines of:
A french word appeared in The Sunday Times, 400 times (I am making up the figures as an example) and A French word appeared in The Daily Mail 200 times. The most frequently used word was ....
Who would have use for such facts? This summer I went to Singapore and visited a Francophone Toastmasters international speakers club at the Alliance Francaise where the meeting was all in French. I believe similar clubs exist in London, Canada and French speaking countries of Europe such as France, Belgium and Switzerland.
If you are called on to speak at such a club, as the President giving the opening address, or a visitor invited to do a table topic, or a member preparing a planned speech, you could use your statistics on the numbers of French words used in English.
If you are an English speaker, at beginner French level, preparing your first speech, you can construct a speech more quickly if you have a list of words you already know from English.
Angela Lansbury, English and French teacher and tutor, speech tutor, speaker, author.
Today's word is debonair. Like the air of a debutante, making her debut, confident, well-dressed.
Oh, dear. In the Sunday Times in an article on Roman orator Cicero I have just found the word arriviste. One who arrives. A bit like nouveau riche. Shades of jumped up.
Other words which popped up: Physique. (I'll give you an example: He walks around in the open air and runs and has a great physique.) Repertoire. (He is a good orator and has a huge repertoire of amusing stories.) Coup d'tat. (Unfortunately there was a coup d'etat.) Regime. (This resulted in a change of regime.)
If you are a meticulous or obsessive person, you could note the word down in your diary and list the source. At the end of the year you might be able to collate the results along the lines of:
A french word appeared in The Sunday Times, 400 times (I am making up the figures as an example) and A French word appeared in The Daily Mail 200 times. The most frequently used word was ....
Who would have use for such facts? This summer I went to Singapore and visited a Francophone Toastmasters international speakers club at the Alliance Francaise where the meeting was all in French. I believe similar clubs exist in London, Canada and French speaking countries of Europe such as France, Belgium and Switzerland.
If you are called on to speak at such a club, as the President giving the opening address, or a visitor invited to do a table topic, or a member preparing a planned speech, you could use your statistics on the numbers of French words used in English.
If you are an English speaker, at beginner French level, preparing your first speech, you can construct a speech more quickly if you have a list of words you already know from English.
Angela Lansbury, English and French teacher and tutor, speech tutor, speaker, author.
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