FRENCH Language Help

[iamlordvoldemort]

Yes, but in French you always have to include an article, So "Academy of Magic" would have to be L'Académie de Magie.

[minnabird]

So I was trying to translate "Le Havre International Floo Point" and this is what I came up with:

Le Havre Point de Cheminette International

(I found the translation for Floo powder - poudre de cheminette - and deduced that cheminette must mean Floo. Not sure though. Plus, when Kara helped me translate a German one, the literal translation ended up being "Munich International Floo NETWORK Point," and I wondered if French would have the same scruples.)

[ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor]

Is 'Le Havre' a proper name? If so, your translation is correct.

[minnabird]

Le Havre is a proper name - a city in France. And thanks! I'm glad!

[Equinox Chick]

I need some help as I'm very bad at French.

I'm after a food/meal that someone English could see on a French menu and order thinking it's one thing and then it turns out to be something else that's actually completely not what they ordered (or wanted). It needs to look similar to something English.

So are there any French dishes that sound similar to English dishes, but aren't?


~Carole~ (wondering if this makes any sense at all)

[AidaLuthien]

Ah, you're looking for a false cognate, something that looks like a word in another language but isn't.

The only one I can think of is poisson which is fish. But no one would order something they thought was 'poison'.

[Maple_and_PheonixFeather]

Oh!! I love French!

Ok, well I'll think of more, but what if they say like tarte d'ananas and thought it was like banana tart but it was really pinapple pie (does that even exsist?) I'd say that tarte is tart not pie, but they are essentially the same thing, no?

I"ll find more

A l'entrée is an appatizer

le potage is soup if they think it is potato.
un pamplemousse is grapefruit.
une prune is a plum, not a prune
un raisin is a grape not a raisin

[OliveOil_Med]

I found a few things that could be foods that would fit the bill.

• Confit de Canard: This is actually duck, but it almost looks like canary
• Cassoulet: This is a soup made with beans, fat, garlic, herbs, and duck or goose, depending on region. But it almost looks like cassorole.
• Mousse de Foie d'Oie: Mousse is usually though of as a dessert, but this mousse is made of goose liver
• Brandade de Morue: This looks like brandy, but it is actually Salt Cod Puree
• Poivron Farci: Stuffed bell peppers, but looks like provalone
• Croûte Raphaëloise: The first word that came to my mind was raspberries, but is really fish-mushroom pie

[Equinox Chick]

Thank you all very much.

I've actually remembered the dish I was looking for which was one I ordered years ago. It was a dish that had the word 'Gambas' in it, and I rather stupidly thought that sounded like lamb, but it turned out that Gambas' are a type of very large prawn.

I was horrified as I'd never eaten seafood before - ha ha - and the thought of shelling them made me shudder. (Love them now, though)

Brandade de Morue: This looks like brandy, but it is actually Salt Cod Puree

That sounds as though it has infinite comic possibities - thank you.

Um, can anyone tell me a slang term in French for a rather trashy/tarty looking girl? Or is there a region in France that's looked down on and has jokes made about the girls (and boys) who live there? I'm talking about jokes regarding their dubious reputations and intelligence.

~Carole~

[Viv]

Well, I don't know what they use in France exactly, or if what I'm going to say is even used by French people, but over here in Canada (the French part), we'll use the word "blonde" to insinuate that a girl isn't really smart. Yes, it refers to the hair color, which means that typically, blonde girls are a bit stupid. That's a plus because it's the same word for both languages.

And to come back on the food subject, your question reminded of a old Beverly Hills 90210 episode back in the 1990's, when Brenda is in Paris and orders a dish called "cervelet", not knowing at all what it is. And it turns out to be the brain of some animal that I can't remember... It was pretty funny to watch! >.>