Lac aveugle doesn’t have more sense (or less sense) in French than “blind lake” in English. Although google maps doesn’t find any, there might be actual lakes in France with that name just like there are also a couple of ...
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What is that “t” in “Quel âge a-t-il/elle ?”
Associations EditorsIt has no meaning. It occurs for the sound only, or as the French say, des raisons euphoniques. Specifically, it’s a species of liaison. Liaison is when the phonological environment of a syllable with no onset is created between two ...
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What are the French “language buffer” words (aka “filler words”)?
Business EditorsI dunno about Europe, but in Quebec the standard filler words are tsé (for tu sais) and genre, the latter of which is usually seen as the lower-key one. The standard and less classy one are “heu” (er), “quoi/hein” (what), ...
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The peculiar use of “parce que”
Associations EditorsThe formal use of “parce que” is to illustrate a causality or a reason. On me refuse l’accès parce que j’ai oublié mes identifiants. In this context, it’s an informal phrasing to emphasize an unexpected outcome to an already surprising ...
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Etymology and usage of idiom “d’accord, Hector!”
Associations EditorsThis kind of rhyming slang on a name is rather popular but I don’t really know to what extent. The name is chosen for its rhyming capacity with the action described in the first part of the sentence. And of ...
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Le sens de « ne » dans « ils ne pouvaient espérer mieux »
Associations EditorsEn effet, votre traduction est juste. Dans cette phrase le mot “pas” est sous-entendu : “Ils ne pouvaient pas espérer mieux”. L’utilisation de l’adverbe “ne … pas” est le moyen de négation le plus utilisé en français. C’est donc plutôt une ...
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« Le/la à » : apport en qualification inusité ?
Associations EditorsAilleurs qu’au Québec est-ce que l’on aurait reconnu ce tour-là ? Pas dans un usage standard. Partant de là la réponse sera (trop) simple. Sauf si l’on prend en compte un usage dialectal ou local non reconnu comme grammaticalement correct, ...
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Comment traduire “ground term” ?
Business EditorsTout à fait fantaisiste : Terme invariant Terme stable EDIT après commentaire Terme invariable Terme sans variable On traduit généralement par terme clos, formule close, etc. dans tous les cas (que ce soit ground ou closed). Voir par exemple les ...
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Conveying ‘a whole different animal’
Associations EditorsIf you say un animal totalement différent in this context, people will stare at you. If you look for an idiom with a similar meaning, you might use une autre paire de manches: L’analyse réelle, c’est une autre paire de ...
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The meanings of “on aurait dit que” and “en aller de son honneur”
Business EditorsMeaning is : At that moment, he decided to help me. As if his own honour was at stake. “It looked as if” is correct. “Il y va de son honneur” it’s a question of honour for him.