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City Guide - Paris - Language | ||
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Language Parisians would probably argue that they speak French with no accent as opposed, for example, to the strong southern accent of the Midi. Provincials, however, argue to the contrary. The Parisian bourgeois accent (affected) and vocabulary (pretentious) was successfully ridiculed by famed comedians Les Inconnus in the early nineties. Their catch phrase, 'ça va? tu vas bien?' (pronounced with elongated vowels - çar var: tu var bi-ar?) has become part of the national folklore. British words, slotted into French sentences, are particularly prized among this set ('c'est top'), as are hyperbolic adjectives ('c'est absolument magnifique'). At the other end of the social spectrum, the Parisian suburbs have given rise to the back-to-front (envers) coded language Verlan. While most French people are familiar with the basics - woman (femme) becomes meuf, bloke (mec) becomes cem, cops (flicks) turns into cuf - but as soon as whole phrases are turned back-to-front, only clan members stand a chance of comprehension. Those in doubt should attempt to decipher the original French version of Matthieu Kassowitz's film La Haine, which depicts the socially excluded inhabitants of the Parisian suburbs. Phrases Yes - Oui No - Non Hello - Bonjour Goodbye - Au revoir Please - S'il vous plaît Thank you - Merci My name is ... - Je m'appelle ... How are you? - Comment ça va? I'm very well - Ça va bien I feel ill - Je ne me sens pas bien How much does - Combien est-ce it cost? - que ça coûte? Do you speak - Est-ce que vous English? - parlez anglais? I don't understand - Je ne comprends pas Where is ...? - Où est ...? Entrance - Entrée Exit - Sortie Danger - Danger Open - Ouvert Closed - Fermé Toilets - Toilettes Doctor - Médecin Hotel - Hôtel Restaurant - Restaurant Beer - Bière Wine - Vin Menu - Menu Today - Aujourd'hui Tomorrow - Demain Monday - Lundi Tuesday - Mardi Wednesday - Mercredi Thursday - Jeudi Friday - Vendredi Saturday - Samedi Sunday - Dimanche One - Un (Une) Two - Deux Three - Trois Four - Quatre Five - Cinq Six - Six Seven - Sept Eight - Huit Nine - Neuf Ten - Dix Twenty - Vingt Thirty - Trente Forty - Quarante Fifty - Cinquante Sixty - Soixante Seventy - Soixante-dix Eighty - Quatre-vingt Ninety - Quatre-vingt dix One Hundred - Cent One Thousand - Mille |