| A | B |
|---|
| un ami vs. un copain | The concept behind the word "friend" is taken much more seriously in Fr. than in USA where it is used for even slight acquaintances."Copain/copine" used with possessive adjectives implies a romantic relationship. |
| masculine nouns vs. feminine nouns | neither MASC. nor FEM. imply anything related to human concept of sexuality. They are simply labels to divide the language's collection of nouns into 2 categories for linguistic purposes. |
| M./Mme/Mlle > end punctuation | in Fr. in an abreviation uses the last couple letters of a word no period is used. |
| adjectives of nationality | not capitalized in Fr. |
| greeting/leaving taking rituals | formalized rituals of shaking hands or kissing at every encounter / which type is determined by the nature of the relationship between those meeting |
| formal vs. informal | the Fr. language, as well as many customs, are much more formal than English as language or American lifestyles, the world views Americans as overly casual people whose casualness is often interpreted as disrespectful under circumstances when others would be more formal! |
| accent marks -required elements of accurate spelling | 3 reasons for Fr. accents:1.to dsitinquish meaning between two words spelled with the same letters; 2. to alter rules of pronunciation; 3. part of an ancient spelling |
| Astérix le Gaulois | favorite comic character representing France as a little guy successfully taking on the giants that try to control it depicting by an ancient Celt pagan opposing ancient Roman occupation of Gaul(ancient name for Fr.) |
| le drapeau français , | the Fr. flag |
| bleu / blanc / rouge | blue-white-red, colors of Fr. flag, each has symbolic meaning, The design adopted at the Fr. Revolution 1789 using American ideals as a model. |
| Martinique | Caribbean island that is part of France politcally, just as Alaska and Hawaii are part of the USA. |
| Fort-de-France | capital city of Martinique, nicknamed "The Little Paris of the Caribbean" |
| créole | Any local language spoken in a particular region that is comprised of assorted languages, It's vocabulary can vary from one place to another. Common in areas historically influenced by the French.Québec, Louisiana, Caribbean, |
| la Francophonie | the French speaking world |
| francophone | adjective refering to any Fr. speaking area |
| la statue de la Liberty | only "Liberty" is capitalize because it's considered the only "proper" noun / a gift to the American people by the common citizenry of France (1876) who funded it with personal donations, some equivalent to just pennies from even the poorest in appreciation for the ideals of political independence. American said "thank you" with a tiny statue that is located in the middle of the Seine river in Paris not far from the Eiffel Tower. |
| La Tour Eiffel | 1889, part of an industrial fair to showcase the revolutionary builting technique of nuts/bolts/steel girders as building framework, This symbol of Fr. was originally hated by the Parisians until they say how popular it became. Currently owned by an Arab cartel. |
| Québec | Atlantic province of Canada, only Fr. speaking province, originally colonized by the Fr. but lost in war to the English,1759, Capital = Québec City |
| Montréal | "royal mountain", 2nd largest Fr. speaking city in the world. Located in Québec. |
| la famille | The family is the #1 most important part of Fr. life. Families stay close, gathering as often as possible for all occasions. Sundays & holidays usually involve a big group dinner at the home of the matriach(oldest female). |
| les prénoms | first names: most traditional male names have a female version. There are many names English speakers would recognize as masculine that are the same spelling for a female: i.e. Dominique, Fréderique. |
