Paris at a Certain Age

Onomatopoeia/Onomatopée

I'm a fiend for onamatopoeia, words that imitate the sound they describe. You might imagine they would be the same or similar in most languages, but they aren't. Sometimes they sound the same, but are spelled differently. A sampling of French onomatopée:

Achoo                       Atchoum

Bang                         Bang/Boum                       

Bla-bla-bla                patati-patata

Boo (to scare)            Hou

Boo-hoo                    ouin-ouin/snif-snif

Boom                        boum

Brrr                          Brrr/ gla-gla

Burp                         Rot

Crash                        Patatras 

Fart sound                 prout/pête

glug-glug                  glouglou

gulp                          gloup

Haha                         haha/hihihi/héhéhé

Honk-Honk                 pouët-pouët

Huh                           Hein

Knock-knock               Toc-toc

lub-dub                      Bom-bom/Poum-poum

nah/so-so/whatever    Bof

oops/whoops               oups

oops-a-daisy                Houp-là

ouch/ow                     aïe/ouille

pee-yew/pee yoo         pouah

phew                          ouf

shhhh                         chut

splat                          ploc

splish splash               flic floc

splash                        plouf

tick tock                    tic-tac

ugh                           pouah

yawn                         ouaaah

yikes                         zut

yippee                      youpi

yoo-hoo                    cou-cou

yuck                         beurk

yum-yum                  miam-miam

um                           euh/ ben

zzzz                         Rrrrrr/Rrrron

What onamatopoeic words have I missed in English or in French? Add to the list, s'il vous plaît.....

 

 

Question

Which of the following photos depicts a pair of 'tongs'?

 

 

Answer: It depends on the language.

In English, it's the metal hinged tool of course. But in French, les tongs (fem, pl) are flip-flops or thongs.The metal device is called pince à aliments (fem, pl) in French. To add to the confusion, flip-flops and beach slip-ons are sometimes called claquettes which is also the name for tap dancing and tap shoes.

This discovery made me wonder about other types of shoes in French beyond chaussures, hauts talons and pantoufles*.

Now I adore the type of 'flats' called ballerines (fem, pl) in French because they resemble the dance shoes.

Most people know that sneakers/athletic shoes are les baskets and that high heels are called hauts talons, but did you know that stilettos or spike heels are called talons aiguilles? And heels/pumps are also called escarpins (mas. pl)? 

What are your favorite shoes?

 

*note: a pantouflard is a term used for a homebody or couch potato, but is also a derogatory term for a civil servant when he takes a job in the private sector.

Slippery French

There are certain French words and phrases that I can't hold onto and use spontaneously. In France, you frequently hear people saying "tout à fait" (right, totally, quite, exactly) and "quand même" (nevertheless, all the same, still, finally, really, anyway, indeed). I understand people when they use these phrases, but I'll consider myself fluent when these spring forth automatically from my mouth.

And then there are the pronouns, like this one:

Ceci, cela, laquel, celui-ci......oy vey. Will they ever enter my usage? By contrast, Yiddish slides out effortlessy: schmuck, goyim, meshugeh.

I give myself an 'atta-girl' whenever I use 'dont' or 'en' or 'mienne' (which is infrequent). These pronouns are lodged with the subjunctive tense on an inaccessible shelf in my brain. Help!