Do you know your Harry Potter Basics?

Today one of my Harry Potter workshops is starting (if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the Sacramento or San Francisco page) and I thought it would be appropriate to practice our French today with a little Harry Potter. So, we're returning to TV5. Yup, I told you that website was a great resource!

Under their "jeunesse" (youth) section they have a fairly simply Harry Potter quiz. But to get it right you'll not only have to know your Harry Potter and your basic French vocab, you'll also need to know your Harry Potter vocab. What do you think? Think you can ace this simple little quiz? Give it a try and let me know how you do!

 

 

Haven't checked out Harry Potter in French? You should!

 

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=DD8E10&t=aegtra-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=2070612368

Bandes Dessinées – Astérix

It's Friday! Time for a little fun!

Astérix is one of the most popular comic strips (Bandes Dessinées or BD) in France. In fact, the first French satellite was named Astérix-1. Enough said – this BD is deeply engrained into French culture. Astérix is the best selling French comic strip, popular the world over though it is less well known in the United States.

(Photo courtesy Google Image search)

The synposis from the French Wikipedia article:

« Nous sommes en 50 avant Jésus-Christ ; toute la Gaule est occupée par les Romains… Toute ? Non ! Car un village peuplé d'irréductibles Gaulois résiste encore et toujours à l'envahisseur. Et la vie n'est pas facile pour les garnisons de légionnaires romains des camps retranchés de Babaorum, Aquarium, Laudanum et Petibonum… ». Ce village gaulois d'Armorique résiste à l'envahisseur grâce à la  préparée par le druide Panoramix, qui procure momentanément une force surhumaine à quiconque en boit.

The official Astérix website is a great place to wander around practicing your French. (Yes, this site is available in English, but even if it detects your language and switches you over to the English version – don't be tempted! Click on the French flag at the right of the screen and stick with French!) The site has a cool collection of free online games including a logic game. You know: "so-and-so lives in a blue house, but does not live next door to a green house; the person with the dog lives in the red house."

Some key vocabulary to help with the game:

les Nationalités :
goth = Goth
grec = Greek
ibère = Iberian
romain = Roman
viking = Viking

les Matériaux :
le bois = wood
le chaume = thatch
la pierre = stone

les Objets :
un bouclier = shield
un chaudron = cauldron
un coffre = chest
une enclume = anvil
une lyre = lyre

les Directions :
à côté de = next to
à gauche de = to the left of
le milieu = the middle
premier/première = first

Click here to play: Astérix Logic Problem (You have to register, s'inscrire, but it's super easy. It's free and it doesn't even require an email address!)

 

So? How'd you do?

Oh, and if you're interested in reading the first Astérix book, check it out at Amazon:

http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=FFFFFF&IS2=1&npa=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=D7A407&t=aegtra-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&md=10FE9736YVPPT7A0FBG2&asins=201210133X

L’Ecole des femmes – Molière

« Il le faut avouer, l’amour est un grand maître :
Ce qu’on ne fut jamais il nous enseigne à l’être. »

L'École des femmes was one of the first real books that I read in French (okay, so it's a play, but it still counts). In fact, I read it in high school. Not only did I read it, but I understood it well enough to like it and to go on to read more by the famous Molière. Looking back at it now, I'm surprised that I ever made it through it given my level of French, but if I could then, you can now!

From Amazon.fr:

Arnolphe a élevé sa pupille Agnès dans l'isolement intellectuel et humain le plus total, afin de faire d'elle la plus soumise et la plus fidèle des épouses. Mais l'innocence équivaut-elle à l'ignorance ? A l'époque des mariages d'intérêt et des unions arrangées, Molière met en scène l'amour comme une force de libération et d'accomplissement de soi. Dans une pièce où se mêlent comique et poésie, il propose ainsi une réflexion originale sur l'émancipation de la femme et sur la puissance du sentiment.

You can find your very own copy of L'École des femmes on Amazon, or you can read it for free online:

L'ecole Des Femmes – Amazon

L'Ecole des femmes – Wikisource

 

Compte vs. Conte

Winter is the season for curling up next to a warm fire with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book. So I'll leave diving into grammar for January. For now, I'm just going to pull a few fun tidbits from some books I enjoy. I hope you enjoy them too!

L'Encyclopédie du savoir relatif et absolu is an interesting little book by Bernard Werber. It's not so much a book as a notebook – a collection of random thoughts, musings, commentaries, even jokes, and riddles. I'm sure I'll refer to this book again in the future, but for now – M. Werber's take on a couple French words:

Compte et Conte

Les mots « compte » et « conte » ont en français la même prononciation. Or on constate que cette correspondance existe pratiquement dans toutes les langues. En anglais, compter : to count, conter : to recount. En allemand, compter : zahlen, conter : erzählen. En hébreu, conter : le saper, compter : li saper. En chinois, compter : shu, conter : shu. Chiffres et lettres sont unis depuis les balbutiements du langage.

Bernard Werber – L' Encyclopedie du Savoir Relatif et Absolu

 

Compter [kɔ̃te] – Déterminer (une quantité) par le calcul.
Conter [kɔ̃te] – Exposer par un récit.

Compte [kɔ̃t] – n. m. – Détermination d'une quantité.
Conte [kɔ̃t] – n .m. – 1. Récit de faits réels. Histoire. 2. Court récit de faits, d'aventures imaginaires, destiné à distraire.

Le Petit Robert de la langue francaise

Oh, and in case you're interested – M. Werber's website: Bernard Werber Home
And he has a blog too! Bernard Werber Blog