Man approaches at the Jardin du Luxembourg. Man asks where we got our ice cream cones. Man walks away.
Erin: Phew. The last thing I’m in the mood for is someone dragging* us.
Me: I know, so enervating**, these draggers*. Do me a service*** and hold my cone a second?
(So in reality, I think I just nodded in agreement. But clearly she would have totally understood.)
*draguer--to try and pick up
**énerver--to annoy
***rendre un service--to do a favor
Heh, I particularly like the 'dragging'. :-)
*scrinches eyes shut* notlookingatthechocolate notlookingatthechocolatedownthere
Posted by: Sierra | 29 March 2005 at 02:24 PM
you're hilarious!
(from fellow expat in paris)
Posted by: Alisa | 29 March 2005 at 02:41 PM
I do a lot of these.
One of my favorites for awhile was "It's clear!" for "I know!", but it was thoroughly confusing my poor non-french speaking parents on my occasional phone calls, so I try to stay clear of it.
That said, I don't really know a lot of expats in my own area (just an irish chicky that I really need to move from "girlfriend of old friend of husband" status to "friend" status, which is so hard to do!), so mostly my goofy english gets used on people who don't have a clue. heh.
Posted by: kim | 29 March 2005 at 02:58 PM
Heh. This is a part of my everyday language. It's really funny when you start to use it on your friends who don't speak French and you don't even flinch because it just comes out so naturally.
I still haven't had good ice cream yet! Hrmpf!
Posted by: flare | 29 March 2005 at 03:54 PM
Now and I again I think to myself, "shouldn't that be interdit?" How I butcher the language...
Posted by: Ms. NOLA | 29 March 2005 at 05:24 PM
My crossover is "it's very ok," which I must have picked up from hubby's English. But I think "interdit" is creeping in as well!
Posted by: ViVi | 29 March 2005 at 05:38 PM
you should try bertillon on isl.
Posted by: mindalicious | 29 March 2005 at 05:50 PM
Some French words just sound better or fit the moment better. I'm always amazed when they pop out of my mouth.
Posted by: Auntie M | 29 March 2005 at 06:26 PM
Also good ice cream at Amorino, multiple locations I think.
Coquette, you crack me up! This is hilarious!
Posted by: DDJ | 29 March 2005 at 06:34 PM
>> "shouldn't that be interdit?"
In my version of franglais, the word is 'interdited'. Also, 'Borrowing my bicycle is defended!!'
Posted by: Stu "El Inglés" Harris | 29 March 2005 at 06:58 PM
These are great. I especially like "my bicycle is defended!"
I realize now I should have ended the exchange with "You" (my friend Erin) saying, "It's normal!"
Posted by: Coquette | 29 March 2005 at 07:57 PM
I find myself saying 'It's not obvious' a lot, for 'c'est pas évident'. And the French use the word cool, which is no longer really used that much in England, so I sound like some sort of 70s throwback...
Posted by: petite | 29 March 2005 at 08:15 PM
when my french huband (then boyfriend) would speak english and say, "oh that is normal", when he should have darn well been saying usual, I used to say, "WHAT??? What do you mean that's normal?" Now sometimes I forget that usual, is the normal word.
Posted by: Alisa | 29 March 2005 at 09:34 PM
Ahhh Franglais! I too have the habit of mixing my languages.
What a great post..... I understood it perfectly!
Posted by: emaleejayne | 30 March 2005 at 09:22 AM
I totally 'comprend' you.
Posted by: Sammy | 30 March 2005 at 11:00 AM
and I was getting irritated when my french classmate would say things like "it's normal" instead of you're welcome!
in the long run bi-culturalism has just made language swapping machines of us, very often to the point of not even noticing we change from one language to the other!
I guess the prefect bilingual is he who sees the nuances between fuck and putain, ... just like feeling that interdit should be at the end of the sentence because it just feels right!
Posted by: chaton | 31 March 2005 at 04:50 PM
We don't say "interdit", but translate it further, and end up saying, "it's forbidden" for everything - a leftover from when my frog was learning to speak English and I thought it was too adorable to correct. Bad me.
Posted by: Katia | 31 March 2005 at 06:48 PM
The complete opposite is happening to me... I am messing up my French by, involuntarily, adding Englicisms to it. "Je dois practicer ce truc", "Je dois deleter ce machin", and I use "chienne" much more to describe ppl I don't like. And I say "Totalement". And much more horrors that frighten me.
Posted by: Chic Tex | 01 April 2005 at 09:48 AM
convo with chaton on IM :
Chaton :
On fais quoi tonite ?
Me :
Dunno, get drunk and annoy US tourists en faisant les cons ?
Chaton :
Yeah ! A pub in saint germain ? genre a tacky place comme COOLI'N ?
Me :
Bloody bonne idée !
Posted by: schuey | 01 April 2005 at 08:27 PM
Hah! Well at least I have perfected the appropriate response for the next poor soul who attempts to drag. I think you will be owing me a gelato soon! Ice-ice baby...
Posted by: Erin | 04 April 2005 at 01:19 PM
It happened to me in the opposite way !
I'm French and since I couldn't find an English equivalent to the word "dragueurs" with my American friends, I once used the word "hitters" (as in "to hit on somebody", clear enough right ?), which amused them a lot, once they understood what I actually meant !!
Posted by: telline | 04 April 2005 at 08:43 PM
Its race in shorts.
Posted by: Bouffon | 06 April 2005 at 09:12 AM
Ahh, I love franglais. C'est great! haha. The other day my friend said "mon mal" (my bad). so funny
Posted by: chioma | 05 February 2006 at 07:25 AM