Experience Language: Experience Life!
Newsletter - February 2008

Bonjour and welcome to our February newsletter. Bonne lecture!

• Coin Coin or Quack Quack?
• 2008 French Bank Holidays
• The Media Love Triangle: Nicolas, Carla and Cécilia
• J'ai monté or Je suis monté

Isn't it amazing that even animals speak a different language whether they are French or English or from a different country? How confident are you with your French animal language?

• Un mouton beugle: bêh. - A sheep baas: bah.
• Un chat miaule: miaou. - A cat meows: meow.
• Un chien aboie: ouaf ouaf. - A dog barks: woof woof.
• Un canard cancane: coin coin - A duck quacks: quack quack.
• Un âne brait: hi han - A donkey brays: hee haw.
• Une vache meugle: meuh - A cow moos: moo.
• Un cochon grogne: gron gron -A pig oinks: oink oink
• Un oiseau pépie: cui cui -A bird tweets: tweet tweet

How unfortunate! Labour day and Ascension day fall on the same day this year. Luckily, the government has recently decided that Whitsun Monday should be an official Bank Holiday once again. Please see below the French bank holidays for 2008:

• Monday 1st Jan - Le Jour de l'An. New Year's Day
• Monday 24th Mar - Le Lundi de Pâques. Easter Monday
• Thursday 1st May - La Fête du Travail/ L'Ascension. Labour Day / Ascension Day
• Thursday 8th May - L'Armistice 1945. Victory Day
• Monday 12th May - Le Lundi de la Pentecôte. Whitsun Monday
• Monday 14th July - La Fête Nationale. Bastille Day
• Friday 15th August - L'Assomption. Assumption Day
• Saturday 1st November - La Toussaint. All Saints Day
• Tuesday 11th November - L'Armistice 1918. Armistice
• Thursday 25th December - Noel. Christmas

You may remember from a past newsletter that language schools are closed on Bank Holidays. While most language schools do not refund nor reschedule missed lessons (except for private lessons), some do.

Schools which offer refunds or reschedule missed lessons.

Aix en Provence

Over the last few months, the media have been incessantly talking about Nicolas Sarkosy, his new wife Carla Bruni and his ex-wife Cécilia Sarkosy. For some, it has been costly.

French Magazine Closer was sued by Cecilia Sarkosy for publishing a picture of her in a bikini next to a picture of Carla Bruni also in a bikini. Cécilia won 30 000 Euros in damages.

Ryanair was sued by Nicolas Sarkosy and Carla Bruni. Ryanair placed an ad campaign in Le Parisien featuring a photo of the couple. On the photo was a speech bubble coming from Carla Bruni saying: 'With Ryanair, my whole family can come to my wedding'. The couple won 60 001 Euros in damages.

Finally Nicolas Sarkosy began judicial action on 7th Feb against le Nouvel Obs website. The website featured an article a week before the President's wedding to Carla Bruni reporting that Nicolas Sarkosy had allegedly sent a text to his ex-wife Cécilia telling her that he would call off the wedding if she came back to him. A suivre!

Who's next?

Monter is one of the être verbs so surely it has to be 'je suis monté', hasn't it? Eh bien, c'est une question piège as it can in fact be both depending on its meaning:

Je suis monté - I went up.
J'ai monté la valise au premier étage - I took the suitcase up to the first floor.

The same applies to descendre (to go down, to take down), entrer (to go in, to take in) and passer (to stop by, to spend time).

Je suis sorti - I went out.
J'ai sorti les poubelles - I took the bins out.

Je suis passé à la boulangerie - I stopped by the bakery.
J'ai passé deux heures chez lui - I spent two hours at his place.

Isn't French an intriguing language?

The Experience Language Team

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