Tuesday, January 18, 2011

CAUTION: LANGUAGE BARRIER CROSSING by P.B.Lecron

I love speaking French, but sometimes I feel like what I 'm about to say is an accident waiting to happen. Like the time when I wanted to say "The best thing to do is to shut up and not say anything."

It came out instead a rather winsome "La meillure chose à faire, c'est de fermer ton clapier et de ne rien dire; or shut your rabbit hutch and not say anything.

Vocabulary & slang
Clapet: valve, mouth
Clapier: rabbit hutch
Clapper: to click one's tongue
Ferme ton clapet: hold your tongue, shut up
Quel clapet: what a chatterbox!




A comedy of errors! Click on titles to read earlier posts on the same theme:
Chic, Chickpeas
Madame Malaprop Goes to the Dentist
I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore
It's All in How You Say It
Accidental English
The Artichoke Next Door

Text & photo ©2011 P.B. Lecron

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