French vocabulary - tricks for English speakers

by Geoffrey Barto English as a springboard to French The connection between English and French becomes pretty obvious when we look at a word like "rouge". In French, it means "red"; in English it's the stuff you put on your cheeks to make them red. Few English speakers have much trouble learning the French word for "red" once they've made the connection. Connecting French and English words that are spelled identically is usually easy (though beware the false cognates). But what do you do with a word like "chat"? You could spend all day trying to figure out why the "chat" was chasing the mouse. But if you knew that a lot of words start with "ch" in French when they start with "c" in English, you could try changing the "ch" to "c" in order to get "cat". Such tricks are not foolproof, of course, but when they work, they give you an easy way of associating a word in French with a word you already know in English. This not only helps you figure out words giving you trouble; it gives you an association of the sort that will make learning French vocabulary easier. In the long run, of course, serious students of French will simply think of a cat when they see the word "chat" - there will be no conversion involved. But on the way to having the word down pat, it's a lot easier to think "chat... that's almost like cat" than it is to look it up. And having the association will make it enough easier to remember that the word will come automatically with far less effort. This short essay is intended to teach English speaking students of French how to puzzle out French words that are giving them trouble and build strong associations for remembering them later. Remember, the tricks aren't foolproof, so confirm your hunch before you hand in your French homework. But if your hunch was right, you'll have a stronger association with the word the next time you meet it and a better way of remembering it the next time you need it. A final note for teachers (and students) ever fearful of doing things the easy way. These aren't really tricks. These tips represent a simplified, practical application for what historical linguistics has taught us about the interrelation of French and English at different points in history. Our first tip - about the circumflex - works because of the way medieval monks copied manuscripts to stay true to Latin while accurately representing the language of the common people. The monks put in a circumflex where the emerging French language left out a letter that had been there in Latin or early French. Since English got a lot of words from Latin or Old French, restoring the "s" gives you the word the way it was when English took it on. On to the tricks (Note that in the examples, "v" represents an unspecified vowel.) The circumflex ("^"): Put an "s" after the letter with a circumflex. hpital = hoSpital, pt = paSty -MENT becomes -LY: rapideMENT = rapidLY, fataleMENT = fatalLY -(ISS)ANT becomes -ING (-ISSANT may become -ISHING): aidANT (helping) = aidING, regardANT (watching) = regardING, finISSANT = finISHING

"CH" becomes "C" at the beginning of a word: CHat = Cat, CHapeau = Cap, CHandelle = Candle "" becomes "S" at the beginning of a word: cole = School, tudiant = Student The "U"s and the "L"s: When you have a vowel or vowels followed by "u", the "u" (and sometimes, some of the preceding vowels) is often replaced by "l". "U" becomes "L": veaU = veaL, peaU (skin) = peaL v1v2U becomes v1L: CHteaU = CaSteL (the old spelling of castle) vUX becomes vLS: nationaUX = nationaL(S), CHteaUX = CaSteLS Note that the interplay between U and L also explains why the handsome suitor is a beaU, his lovely lady is a beLLe, and the two of them are possessed of beaUty ("beaut" in French). -ER and -IR and other endings drop giving an English word: regardER = regard, quittER = to quit (to leave), partir = part -IR and related endings become -ISH: ternIR = tarnISH, finIR = finISH, ravIR = ravISH -IR and related endings change to -E to give a French adjective. Decode the adjective: brunIR becomes brunE (brown) so brunIR means "to brown" or "to turn brown". rougIR becomes rougE (red) so rougIR means "to turn red" or "blush". -FIER becomes -FY: justiFIER = justiFY G/GU becomes W: Garde-robe = Wardrobe, GUerre = War -EUX/EUSE = -OUS: dangerEUX/EUSE = dangerOUS, libellEUX/EUSE = libelOUS. -EUR/EUSE = -OR: actEUR = actOR, vendEUR/vendEUSE (salesperson) = vendOR -RICE = -RESS: actRICE = actRESS, sductRICE = seductRESS -vIT/-vIRE = vCT: faIT = faCT, conduIRE (drive) = conduCT (NB: parfaIT = perfeCT, sduIRE = seduCE) Picking out cognates A number of words in English have come to us from Latin. When this is the case, the French words may not at first be so evident. However, knowing the connection may help us in memorizing new words. On this page, we are going to take a short passage and pick out words with which we may establish a connection. Then we'll decipher. Finally, there will be a full translation. Here's the first paragraph of the passage:

Il tait une fois, une petite fille de village, la plus jolie qu'on et su voir: sa mre en tait folle, et sa [grand-mre] plus folle encore. Cette bonne femme lui fit faire un petit chaperon rouge qui lui seyait si bien, que partout on l'appelait le Petit Chaperon rouge. Let's take the first paragraph line by line to see what we can find. petite: As in a petite dress, "petite" means small fille: This one's trickier. "Filial pride" means a son's pride. "Fille" is daughter; "fils" is son. plus: "Plus" has a variety of meanings, including "more". on: "On" means one, as in "One doesn't do such things." mre: Amazingly enough, this comes from the Latin "mater," mother (like maternal). This wouldn't be worth memorizing except that it's the key to a few other words. Here's the list: mre (maternal) = mother, pre (paternal) = father, frre (fraternal) = brother. Incidentally, sister is "soeur" from the Latin soror (like a sorority). folle: One who is "folle" suffers from "folie" (folly, craziness). Remembering the "U"s and "L"s, we get the masculine form "fou". grand-mre: Note the hyphen in the word for "grandmother". encore: When you shout "encore" at the symphony, it means (play) again! Encore = again or still. bonne: If you do good work, you get a bonus. "Bon"/"bonne" means good. femme: A female, i.e. a woman. "Man," incidentally, is "homme" (like homo sapiens). chaperon: CH = C and we get a cap/cape, i.e. a hood. rouge: means red, like the red stuff women put on their cheeks. appelait: Appellation is a ten-dollar word for what you call someone. "S'appelait" = "was called." Now, here's the paragraph in English. There was one time a little girl from town, the loveliest one could ever see: her mother was crazy about her, her grandmother more crazy still. This good woman had a little red hood made for her that went with her so well that everywhere one called her the Little Red (Riding) Hood. Needless to say, this is the opening of Little Red Riding Hood. Let's hit paragraph two. Un jour, sa mre ayant cuit et fait des galettes, lui dit: "Va voir comment se porte ta [grand-mre], car on m'a dit qu'elle tait malade. Porte-lui une galette et ce petit pot de beurre." Le Petit Chaperon rouge partit aussitt pour aller chez sa [grand-mre], qui demeurait dans un autre village. En passant dans un bois, elle rencontra compre le Loup, qui eut bien envie de la manger; mais il n'osa, cause de quelques bcherons qui taient dans la fort. Il lui demanda o elle allait. La pauvre enfant, qui ne savait pas qu'il tait dangereux de s'arrter couter un loup, lui dit: "Je vais voir ma [grand-mre], et lui porter une galette, avec un pot de beurre, que ma mre lui envoie." jour: The JOURnal comes every day. A JOURney is a trip that takes all day. Jour = day. cuit: This one's tricky, but we know another form, "cuisine". This is a verb form. fait: faIT = faCT, a thing that has been done. Manufactured = made by hand; fait simply means made or done. dit: Think "diction." This is the verb, "dire" (to speak, to say). comment: A comment indicates how a person is thinking. Comment = how. porte: A PORTable computer can be carried. The question is how grandmother carries herself, i.e. how she's doing. malade: When you're sick, you have a malady. Malade = sick. pot: actually a jar, here. partit: parted. autre: Remember the "U"s and "L"s. An ALtruist thinks of others. Autre = other. passant: passing. rencontra: Can you see "encountered" in there?

loup: When you're "loopy," you're like a wolf howling at the moon. Loup = wolf. envie: envy, desire. manger: Jesus lay in the manger, a trough for eating. Manger = to eat. cause: because. fort: forest. demanda: demanded, asked. pauvre: pauvret = poverty; pauvre = poor. enfant: infant, child. dangereux: dangerous. s'arrter: to arrest oneself, i.e. to stop. envoie: An envoy is the person a leader sends with a message. Envoie = sends. Needless to say, the tricks didn't help us completely decode the passage. But they gave us a good head start along with some memory aids so the words will look more familiar next time. Here's our full passage: There was one time a little girl from town, the loveliest one could ever see: her mother was crazy about her, her grandmother more crazy still. This good woman had a little red hood made for her that went with her so well that everywhere one called her the Little Red (Riding) Hood. One day, her mother having cooked and made some galettes, said to her: "Go see how your grandmother is doing (carries herself), for (some)one said to me she was sick. Carry her a galette and this little jar of butter." The Little Red Riding Hood parted soon to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village. In passing through a wood, she encountered Mr. Wolf, who had a desire to eat her; but he didn't dare, because of some loggers who were in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who didn't know it was dangerous to stop to listen to a wolf, said to him: "I am going to my grandmother's, to carry a galette to her, with a jar of butter, that my mother sends." Word families Sometimes knowing one word will give you the ability to learn a number of other words. Here we're going to connect to an English hook, then show how that hook gives you a lot of French words. Royal. Remember the "U"s and "L"s. Royal, royale, royaux and royales are the four forms of the adjective meaning "royal". Royal means pertaining to the king, "roi." The king and queen ("reine" from L. regina) rule ("rgner sur" like "rein over" from L. regere) the kingdom ("royaume" - we're back to roi and royal). Their government (or any government) is the "rgime" and it enforces its will with "rgiments". Incidentally, a meal fit for a king is "rgal" (though "royal" is preferred in speaking of the king himself). Lgal. We just saw "roi" and "rgal". Likewise, law and legal are "loi" and "lgal" in French. If something isn't legal, it's "illgal." "Lois" are made by the "lgislature" - selected in "lections lgislatives" ("lgislatif" is the masculine form) - as the result of "lgislation" (all three are obvious cognates). Meanwhile, if you uphold the law of relationships, you are "loyal." Remembering the "U"s and "L"s, you'll note the other forms are "loyale," "loyaux" and "loyales." Fin. We know from page one that "finir" is finish (-IR = -ISH). That's because it's when you come to the end, "fin." Of course the end is "final" (other forms: "finale" - which gives the English finale, like at a fireworks show - "finaux/finals" and "finales"). "Finalement" is finally, but so is "enfin" (sort of like "in the end"). And when something reaches its end, it is "fini" (finished). Chaleur. This one is a bit tricky, so follow closely. First let's decode "chaleur": CH = C and -EUR = OR so "chaleur" = "calor." Many will see the Spanish word for "hot"; it's French for "heat." It's also the source for the English "calorie." Since "chaleur" means "heat," "chaleureux/se" is "warm" and

"chaleureusement" is "warmly." Meanwhile, French also has the word, "chaud," which means "hot." Remembering the "U"s and "L"s, we might notice that this word is related to "chaleur" (there's a common root in the Latin "calor" and "calidus"). When it's hot, the French say "il fait chaud." When they are hot, they say "j'ai chaud" (don't say "je suis chaud"; it's not correct and can be taken the wrong way!). If they aren't hot, they might turn on the "chauffage" (heating) or "rchauffeur" (heater). This will enable them to (re)heat the house (rchauffer). Incidentally, the "chauffeur" who drives limousines today got his name from the guys who shoveled coal into the boilers on trains and the first steam-powered vehicles - who kept the engines heated. Summing up When learning French, or any other language, you have to actually learn to use the language on its own terms - you can't use tricks like I've given as a secret decoder ring forever. That said, it can become very tedious going back and forth to a dictionary when you are starting to read. Use these tricks, most of them resulting from the interplay between English, French and Latin, when you encounter a word you don't know or have a vocabulary word that's giving you trouble and you will find your work made much easier. Bonne chance!