h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What, like Style Council? I thought Paul Weller went solo. And the one out of The Who who wasn't Roger Daltrey or Pete Townsend has gone to meet his maker (RIP).

Hmm...
Shut up is "tais toi" or "taisez vous" Although i don't know why you'd want to formally tell someone to shut up, might as well give them the whole nine yards and treat them with a plebean "tu".


The sentence "J'étudie le français à l'école, mais je suis très mauvais à cela" is pretty much beyond help.

Well, 'Taisez-vous!' is what teachers might shout at rowdy class-rooms, so not *completely* useless.

I didn't know that there was an adjective form of m***e as it's not a word I tend to use that often

Is that m***e the same way Alex Feguson/Detective Taggart might say

"There's been a merder" ?

Well, it would be handy to describe the weather in Strasbourg right now!

Ah yes, it's still plural, of course. duh.

Under Insults -- you've probably noticed, but your French has been moderated away. Though I quite understand the moderated English and that could stand as is, the French is sorta useless in that form.... Wanna ask an Editor to reinstate it in the Edited version? (They may forget unless you ask and say what it is supposed to be... I quoted some word in my Fawlty Towers entry that the mods asterisked, but the Editors reinstated it in the Edited form. Which was nice of them. )

I would assume that "tu" and "vous" are conjugated and declined (is that the word I want?) differently -- you may want to mention that too, for people who know absolutely nothing more than English and may make the mistake of "Comment t'appelles vous?" while trying to be polite (that grammar might in fact be correct, seeing as I don't speak French......)

Oh, just noticed that 'une bande de idiots' should be 'une bande d'idiots'...

I think they'd get the idea about 'comment t'appelles-vous?', but 'comment t'/vous appelles/appellez-tu/vous?' is the correct wording (even though it now looks incredibly confusing...)

Caper Plip

Comment vous appellez-vous?
How do you call yourself?

Funnily enough, we do much the same thing but only in the passive...

What *is* he called? ie, 'He' is called 'what' by some undefined other entity?

An impersonal verb in English, pronominal in French.

Couldn't you also rearrange it so it's:

Comment tu t'appelles?/Comment vous vous appellez?

The second looks very bulky, but that's reflexive verbs for you...

Caper Plip

anything goes (well, almost)

Vous vous appellez comment?

it may look bulky, but when you say it quickly, those the first 'vous' is just a blur before the second one:

vv-vou za play kmo?

I think to draw out the formal 'What's your name?' you could try 'Comment est-ce que vous vous appelez?' ('Est-ce que' is a tricky little convention of French, and the '-ce' is swallowed in the pronunciation, just like... uh... it's been a long summer, I guess I don't remember. The French language tends to swallow/skip letters, syllables, etc, but I still think it's easier to learn than English.)

It might be prudent to add a little note regarding the difference between tu/toi and vous, the latter being formal (or addressing a group of people). Also, 'salut' is a more informal hello, and a friendly goodbye too. The language tends to reflect culture differences - I probably shouldn't talk because I haven't been to France (yet!), but I get the impression that the French (unlike Americans) usually treat strangers, clients, etc with formality, instead of calling everyone 'buddy' or 'pal'. (Of course, the actions of Americans don't always prove to be really cheery. Drive around in America and you'll figure this out.) Hence, French differentiates between the formal and informal second person.

I like the random nature of these French phrases - there are quite a few errors tho.

One more that's not right - unless you can find a talking cow you won't hear "je suis pleine" very much in France - its strictly for animals...



A woman would say "je suis enceinte"

On the whole I'm all for insulting people with "vous" It's got a certain coldness about it - I'm insulting you but I'm keeping you at arms length...

There's loads more you could add - there's no way to make it really useful so why not get some more comedy ones in?

You should also have "la réponse a la vie, l'univers et tout? 42, bien sûr..." (Moderators this is the French for "the answer to life the universe and everything - 42 of course".)

Or "un steack-frites bien cuit et un verre de rouge, svp" (steak and chips and a glass of please"

Or "Je suis perdu - pourriez vous m'indiquer la route pour Calais, svp"
(I am lost - please show me the way to Calais)

And of course, for the doctors no Brit could be without

"J'ai pris un coup de soleil - avez vous quelque-chose pour apaiser mes brulûres" I've got sun burn - have you got something to soothe my burns?"

More where that came from if you like...

Sprout

Thanks very much Sprout! I can't believe the backlog and RL is getting buisy, but I'll definitely add a few of those in when I've got time.

"Votre famille est une bande de idiots et tu est une grande pile de m*rde!"

to

"Votre famille est une bande d'idiots et tu es une grande pile de m*rde!"

'pile' - battery ???
Disagreement between 'votre famille' et 'tu es'
Take either 'ta famille/tu es' or 'votre famille/vous êtes'.

for extra flair, use 'une belle bande d'idiots'

Whoami?

hi Whoami?,

can i just suggest you take a step back from this question, look again, and ask yourself the question:

"Is it worth correcting an insult that has been placed, in bad French, in what purports to be a list of 'handy French phrases'?"

Is this one of the 20 most useful phrases to have to hand while enjoying a long-weekend in Paris? Well, I don't think so.

Exist Elev, would you take it badly if i set up in competition with you on this one?

I was already thinking about it, and this has convinced me. I'm gonna put a start into the collabo WW and try to get a 'proper' list of handy French phrases.

There is no question of 'copying' your idea here. I had thought about it before, but decided only to start an 'alt' French phrases, with rude stuff and stuff you never get taught at school (like 'Vas t'en, p'tit con!' - "Get lost you little d**k-head!").

Now, looking at what you dropped straight into PR (ie ready for the guide), it seems to me there is a need for a 'proper' version for the EG.

Don't Panic! But I actually do know how to speak French, and don't want something as dodgy as this to slip into the guide (not that I think the editors would go for it in its current state).

If you fancy contributing to a collaborative entry, I'd love to hear from you in the CWW, as of soon, when I open a new version.

cya
spiff

Spiff/Elevator, if you do it quickly i.e., before 4 October, you can get it linked to in the collaborative "great weekend breaks" thing. Certainly that'll include Calais or something.

Thin King Ahead
Dr Montague Trout

I'll leave this one in your capable hands. *unsubscribes*

I actually deeply regret suggesting that one... I didn't actually think that you'd actually put in it...

Je suis desolé...