| A | B |
|---|
| le foot | soccer / the absolute most favorite game of all outside the USA |
| une boum | a casual party (middle schoolers) |
| un téléphone portable / un portable | cell phone |
| c'est acceptable | It's acceptable |
| ce n'est pas acceptable | It's unacceptable |
| cell phone laws in Fr. | illegal to use driving, rude to use in public where people are focusing attention on something (meal, movie, concert etc.) |
| Allô...ici (name). bonjour. Ça va? | telephone ritual considered the polite thing to do |
| pendant | during (preposition) |
| en conduisant | while driving |
| le mercredi après-midi | Wed.'s are half-days for students, they usually use this time for extracurricular activities at private or community clubs: musical instrument lessons, sports, field trips. |
| le samedi matin | Sat. mornings students attend class as usual. Thus, students are in school 6 days a week. |
| les vacances | European students have been on block scheduling for decades. They also go to school year round with more vacation time than US students: 1 week off every 8, 2 weeks for Christmas, 2 weeks for Easter, 6 weeks in summer. |
| le jour d'école | a high school student's school day runs from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with usually an hour to an hour and a half for lunch |
| les boum | students have casual parties in private homes, adults entertain in restaurants, mixed adult/kids parties are usually just for family members |
| les concerts | European governments support the arts making ticket prices more affordable for all, there are many more cultural events attended by the average European than American |
| la musique populaire | whatever is popular in the US music world of teens is also popular in Europe, however, Europeans also appreciate World Music/musicians much more than Americans |
| Youssou N'Dour | credited with making Afro-pop music famous world wide / one of the most popular world-wide West African musicians, from Sénégal |
| le tama / tam tam | West African drum commonly used in both modern and traditional music |
| la Négritude | social and political movement to balance the European cultural influences with traditional African elements to preserve African cultural heritage |
| Ismael Lô | early Afro-pop musician "the Soul Man of Sénégal" |
| Baaba Maal | popular Afro-pop musician |
| kora / cora | W.African stringed instrument prevalent in traditional & pop music |
| mbalax | W.Afr. "sound" with 2 contrasting rhythms overlayed on each other |
| Zap Mama | popular Afro-centric pop women's group |
| Zébda | popular Algerian-Fr.group (men) whose music blends pop methodologies with Arabic and Rap elements |
| Cheikh Lô | highly popular "new" Afro-pop musician |
| canal # | (tv) channel (#) |
| TF1 | popular Fr. tv channel |
| la télé | European tv broadcasting is more advanced than in the US. Europeans have accessed tv via satellite and cable far longer than they have been popular in the US. Europeans have access to tv channels from all over the continent and other continents providing a far wider selection of programming than is available in the USA |
| le minitel | a precusor to the internet developed by the Fr. in the '60s and a typical part of household equipment by the 70's |
| le cybercafé | a public facility for accessing the internet available since the '80s, available now in the US but |
| les cours d'informatique | computer classes (offered in all Fr. schools since the '80s) |
| chatter | to chat(online) |
| envoyer un mail/un mél) | to send email |
| surfer sur l'Internet (Net) | to browse online |
| télécharger | to download |
| être en ligne | to be online |
| Jean-Baptiste Corot | Fr. painter, 19th century, landscapist |
| la salles de classes | classroom |
| la cantine | cafeteria |
| le stade | stadium |
| le terrain de sport | (athletic) playing field |
| le collège | middle school |
| le lycée | high school |
| l'université | college/university |
| les années de l'école | Fr. year/grades are numbered in reverse of Amer. schools, thus 2nd year Fr.= Junior year USA, 2nd grade USA = 11th year Fr. |
| rédoubler | to stay back (repeat a school year due to low achievement) |
| le baccalaureat / le bac | a 2 part national exam that students must pass to continue on to next level, part 1 taken at the end of primary school, part 2 end of high school. |
| options for study | students who pass the 1st level bac continue on the le collège at tax payer expense, if they pass the 2nd bac they go to university for free as well. students who do not pass the first bac are directed into vocational or technical schools depending on their grades. Thus, a student's failure to achieve in the lower grades determines his income-making/lifestyle for the rest of his life. Many low achievers end their free public education years at age 14 and must begin to work for a living.This is common outside the USA |
