20,000 Lieux de MystèreNew site user here, hi. I’ve been reading “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” in Jules Verne’s original French (“20,000 Lieux sous les Mers”) for my first time, having never read a translation (many translations of his works tend to have the reputation of poor quality). The first few chapters were a little challenging, as I had to look up quite a few vocabulary words relating to maritime matters. Two particular words which still cause me curiosity are “scaphandre” and “loch”.
(1) “Scaphandre” — I understand this means a diving suit, and given “20,000 Lieux” was written 150 years ago, obviously Verne meant the old-fashioned style with a large brass helmet. However, I would think modern French would use something like “costume / tenue de plongée”, while, insofar as I’m aware, English has always referred to diving suits, both old and modern, as simply “diving suits”. Therefore, is “scaphandre” a conspicuously old word in French, and is it still ever used ?
(2) “Loch” — This seems to translate either as a Scottish lake (and what I always call a lake, being Scottish myself, yet that is obviously not what Verne meant), or as a ship’s “log” (I assume closer to his meaning). However, for me a ship’s log, in English, tends to be a book or journal, albeit perhaps nowadays kept in digital format. Nonetheless, in “20,000 Lieux” it seems to be some kind of equipment, and I think Verne even refers to it at least once as “loch électronique”. What is it ?
(3) Finally, it was only upon actually reading the book that I realised the error I had made for my entire prior life regarding what its title means — the “20,000 Lieux” refers to the submarine’s lateral travel around the world, and not to its depth. My erstwhile foolish misinterpretation was as much to do with my poor command of English as my bad French, since, in this context, both “lieu” and “league” mean the same, i.e. about 3½ miles, or 5½km. That said, I would suggest the English translation of the title might be more clearly rendered as “20,000 Leagues around the Sea Above”. There might be some nuance between “sous” and “au dessous de” in French, which English doesn’t really articulate (“under”, “underneath”, and “beneath” all mean pretty much the same, I think).
French for "rifle" is "fusil", while "shotgun" is "fusil de chasse". This suggests the core French word "fusil" means something less specific than "rifle", which in English refers to the spiraled "rifling" along the inside of the barrel, which a shotgun lacks.
However, the Italian word "fusile" can mean either "rifle" or "shotgun", yet also spiral-shaped pasta, despite a shotgun lacking this.
Can anyone explain, s'il vous plait ?
French for "rifle" is "fusil", while "shotgun" is "fusil de chasse". This suggests the core French word "fusil" means something less specific than "rifle", which in English refers to the spiraled "rifling" along the inside of the barrel, which a shotgun lacks.
However, the Italian word "fusile" can mean either "rifle" or "shotgun", yet also spiral-shaped pasta, despite a shotgun lacking this.
Can anyone explain, s'il vous plait ?
Hello,
This lesson, on 'san que (+ ne explétif) + the subjunctive mood', states that the use of the 'ne' is optional in modern spoken French. Additionally, it is omitted when the main verb is used with a negation. Unsurprisingly, the lesson teaches with examples using 'ne'.
Yet, in your test I was marked wrong for doing so. Specifically, the question was to complete a sentence, which I submitted as:
"Tu as fait tout ça sans que ne Neve soit au courant".
Yet the correct answer is shown without the 'ne'.
Have I misunderstood something here?
Thanks in advance,
D
"Tu as fait tout ça sans que ne Neve soit au courant"
Bonjour, I ran into a sentence on a youtube video. "Elle adore travailler avec les enfants et les aide à apprendre de nouvelle chose. My question is why "DE" used with the verb apprendre in this sentence. "Apprendre de" means learn something from someone/something but this definition doesn't correspond the meaning of apprendre in this sentence. What is the function of this "DE" in this sentence.
Merci..
In the book "Grammaire en dialogues. Niveau intermédiaire" by Claire Miquel, chapter 12, there's a dialogue which starts:
Benjamin : Quand est-ce que j'aurai une moto?
Le père : Je te l'ai déjà dit : quand tu auras passé ton bac.
Benjamin : « Quand j'aurai passé mon bac », c'est dans longtemps ! C'est dans six mois !
From my point of view, there's no much sense to promise anything for taking (being at) an exam instead of succeeding it. Could you please clarify this?
I just heard someone in the show "Lupin" say what sounded like "merce" instead of "merci". Is "merce" an actual truncated form (like "ta" in English), or did the actor / character just trail off at the end of the word because she was distracted ? (It's the cop who's just taken Lupin into custody, & is transporting him by car, & she's talking with a petrol station attendant.)
Also, how common, & how slangy is "cimer" ?
I love how she can roll the r three or more times on the word "cruel"! J'aime comment elle peut rouler le r trois ou plus temps avec the mot "cruel". (Did I get this correct?) ;)
Is it “il est au Kansas” or “Il est dans le Kansas”
How are noun cardinal numerals formed, and what is to be determined when putting 'de'
New site user here, hi. I’ve been reading “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” in Jules Verne’s original French (“20,000 Lieux sous les Mers”) for my first time, having never read a translation (many translations of his works tend to have the reputation of poor quality). The first few chapters were a little challenging, as I had to look up quite a few vocabulary words relating to maritime matters. Two particular words which still cause me curiosity are “scaphandre” and “loch”.
(1) “Scaphandre” — I understand this means a diving suit, and given “20,000 Lieux” was written 150 years ago, obviously Verne meant the old-fashioned style with a large brass helmet. However, I would think modern French would use something like “costume / tenue de plongée”, while, insofar as I’m aware, English has always referred to diving suits, both old and modern, as simply “diving suits”. Therefore, is “scaphandre” a conspicuously old word in French, and is it still ever used ?
(2) “Loch” — This seems to translate either as a Scottish lake (and what I always call a lake, being Scottish myself, yet that is obviously not what Verne meant), or as a ship’s “log” (I assume closer to his meaning). However, for me a ship’s log, in English, tends to be a book or journal, albeit perhaps nowadays kept in digital format. Nonetheless, in “20,000 Lieux” it seems to be some kind of equipment, and I think Verne even refers to it at least once as “loch électronique”. What is it ?
(3) Finally, it was only upon actually reading the book that I realised the error I had made for my entire prior life regarding what its title means — the “20,000 Lieux” refers to the submarine’s lateral travel around the world, and not to its depth. My erstwhile foolish misinterpretation was as much to do with my poor command of English as my bad French, since, in this context, both “lieu” and “league” mean the same, i.e. about 3½ miles, or 5½km. That said, I would suggest the English translation of the title might be more clearly rendered as “20,000 Leagues around the Sea Above”. There might be some nuance between “sous” and “au dessous de” in French, which English doesn’t really articulate (“under”, “underneath”, and “beneath” all mean pretty much the same, I think).
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