Word: french
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...speak any foreign languages? I studied French in high school and German in college and I once took a 24-hour Italian crash course. English has by far the most words in it of any other language. Our money might not be worth anything anymore, but the language is. With everything else American going to pot, it's nice to know we've got a wonderfully rich language...
...intercontinental movements of people have increased the number of “global citizens” and diluted many claims to a pure, national identity. Le Clézio is hardly an unambiguous “Frenchman”—although born in Nice and of French descent, he moved to Nigeria when he was eight, punctuated his life with long stays in Mexico and South America, married a Moroccan woman, and now splits his time between Nice, New Mexico, and Mauritius. He has also written extensively in English...
...might be a troubling idea for countries that have a historically strong dependence on a sense of national identity. Such is the case for France. A nation whose modern history is referential to notions of universality and brotherhood, France’s colonial history echoed a desire to spread French culture—and not just French power—around the globe. That French-language citizens of former colonies might hesitate to pledge allegiance to France would surely disturb many proud readers (like Sarkozy). Yet the nature of the Francophone world—and our entire world today?...
...which truth or “lifeness” can occur. With his “Godlike powers of omniscience,” the novelist is able to outwit convention and makes his work approach the truth. The truth can come out in surprising metaphors—the French writer Celine “shocks us out of the familiar by likening rush hour in Paris to catastrophe”—or with details and characters that remind us of our surroundings. It’s an insightful recipe for literature, enchanting in its simplicity.Wood is both...
...witchcraft, torture, and rampant sexual urges in 17th-century England. In lieu of a plot summary, which would—trust me—be absolutely pointless, allow me to mention some choice moments from the film that emphasize its key aspects.The dialogue, dubbed in English from its original French, included choice lines like “A woman’s weeping is like a melodious modulation,” spoken by the royal Lord Jeffries while a female character is tortured. Later, the maniacal and (of course!) secretly lesbian Lady DeWinter proclaims that the nun witch Kathleen...