6.6: Francophonie - Points culturels
- Page ID
- 118949
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)In this section, you will learn about:
- The city of Québec
- Shortened words (apocopes)
Listen to the audio clips that follow on this page to hear the French pronunciation of vocabulary and examples presented.
On découvre !
La francophonie
Québec
"This work" by JFGanonPhotographie, Pixabay is in the Public Domain, CC0
"This work" by breaktime, Pixabay is in the Public Domain, CC0
Watch this video to explore Québec : Visitons le Québec avec Alex.
Can you say what one can do in these places in Québec?
- Qu’est-ce qu’on peut faire dans le Quartier Petit Champlain ?
- Qu’est-ce qu’on peut faire au Marché du Vieux Port ?
- Et « Chez Dany » ?
- Et à la Terrasse Dufferin ?
- Et au Château Frontenac ?
Les mots raccourcis (shortened words)
French and English speakers often use shortened versions of words called mots raccourcis, or apocopes. In English, we say things like pro (professional), gym (gymnasium), info (information), lab (laboratory), app (application) and fridge (refrigerator). Here are some common mots raccourcis in French :
| Mots raccourcis | Mots complets | Équivalents en anglais |
|---|---|---|
| la fac | la faculté | college, school, faculty |
| la science po | la science politique | political science |
| les maths | les mathématiques | mathematics |
| la philo | la philosophie | philosophy |
| la géo | la géographie | geography |
| la psycho | la psychologie | psychology |
| un(e) prof | un(e) professeur | professor |
| le labo | le laboratoire | laboratory |
| un dico | un dictionnaire | dictionary |
| le bac | le baccalauréat | high school diploma |
| un stylo | un stylographe | a pen |
| une info | une information | a news item |
| une photo | une photographe | a photograph |
| un appart | un appartement | apartment |
| le frigo | le réfrigérateur | the refrigerator |
| la télé | la télévision | the television |
| la clim | la climatisation | the air conditioning |
| le resto, le restau | le restaurant | the restaurant |
| le resto U | le restaurant universitaire | the university restaurant, cafeteria |
| l'apéro | l'apéritif | the aperitif (pre-dinner drink) |
| la sécu | la sécurité, sécurité sociale | security, social security |
| la manif | la manifestation | the protest |
| le métro | le métropolitain | the subway |
| le foot | le football | soccer |
| le basket | le basket-ball | basketball |
| la pub | la publicité | the commercial, advertisement |
| bio | biologique | organic |
| sympa | sympathique | kind, nice |
| un intello | un intellectuel | an intellectual |
| un, une ado | un adolescent, une adolescente | a teenager |
| une appli | une application | an app |
| écolo | écologique | green, environmentally friendly |
| Mots raccourcis | Mots complets | Équivalents en anglais |
|---|---|---|
| cet aprèm | cet après-midi | this afternoon |
| bon ap | bon appétit | bon appétit, enjoy your meal |
| à toute | à tout à l'heure | see you in a while |
| à plus | à plus tard | see you later |
| comme d'hab | comme d'habitude | as usual |
| bon anniv | bon anniversaire | happy birthday |
| 10h du mat | 10h du matin | 10 o'clock in the morning |
Study the Quizlet vocabulary flashcards. Listen and repeat the French pronunciation.
Explore more mots raccourcis: apocopes.
Les mots raccourcis are different from abbreviations which are marked by a period and appear more in writing than in spoken language: adj. (adjectif), biol. (biologie), ex. (exemple), Mr. (Mister), and so on.
Acronyms, which are formed by taking the first letter of each word in a phrase to make new word (like USA, LASER, FBI, OMG, BFF), are common in French as well. Some examples in Frenchg are: BCBG (bon chic bon genre = preppy), le FLE (français comme langue étrangère = french as a foreign language), le TGV (train à grande vitesse = hig speed train), RER (Réseau Express Régional = Regional Express Network). For more about this, explore French Acronyms and Initialisms.
In the world of texting, the number of mots raccourcis and acronyms are increasing rapidly in French as well. Sometimes it's just a matter of taking away the vowels in a word like bjr (bonjour) or slt (salut). Other times they use anglicisms like lol (éclater de rire), letters that sound like words (N for haine) or parts of words (nouvL), and a variety of other creative shortcuts. You can explore the world of French texting language (le langage du SMS) with this dictionary: Dictionnaire SMS.
Lectures culturelles
Lisez Une journée typique de Sylvie et essayez de compléter les activités proposées sur le site.
On pratique !
Activité
Regardez « La visite de l’appartement » et répondez aux questions.
- Il est comment le séjour ?
- Combien de personnes peuvent manger dans le coin de repas ?
- Quel genre devue la première chambre a-t-elle?
- Qu’est-ce que les acheteurs potentiels pense de la salle de bain ?
- Est-ce que la deuxième chambre plus grand our plus petit que la première ?
- Pourquoi est-ce que les acheteurs potentiels ne peuvent plus acheter la maison ?
On approfondit !
Use the following resources to type accents and/or search for words:
- Accents: ç, à, é, è, â, ê, î, ô, û, ù, ë, ï, ü
- Dictionnaire français-anglais