HOW TO PRONOUNCE "WI-FI" IN FRENCH

Link courtesy, as so often, Languagehat. Fun little article from William Alexander. Of particular note: "Wee-fee."

Le vent souffle ou il veut. And donkeys do too.

About 11 minutes into Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar. It contains probs my new favoritest soundtrack to a title sequence ever. I won't spoil it by describing it, but it's amazing.

THE ANT & THE GRASSHOPPER: LA BISE

Can't. Get. No...

The set-up: Trying to find short texts for language-maintenance since my brain's a little less inclined to read these days. I'm tackling two established masterpieces that've been on my long-list for quite a while: the Grimm bro's Kinder- und Hausmärchen and La Fontaine's Fables choisies. I'll probs just read a story from each every day or so, just to keep a foot in each of the respective Gallic-Teutonic linguistic doors.

So anyway: I'm floating through La cigale et la fourmi ("the ant and the grasshopper" but flipped), when I am greeted with the word "la bise" (= kiss): quand la bise fut venue. This is, of course, rather odd. So I look it up and discover this is in fact a good ol' Alpine nor'-nor'easter. I like it.

Here's the whole bit for the sake of getting it in my head:

        La cigale ayant chanté

               tout l'été,

        se trouva fort dépourvue

        quand la bise fut venue.

        Pas un seul petit morceau

        de mouche ou de vermisseau.

        Ella alla crier famine

        chez la fourmi sa voisine,

        la priant de lui preter

        quelque grain pour subsister

        jusqu'a la saison nouvelle.

        "Je vous pairai," dit elle,

        "avant l'Out*, foi d'animal,   //*= Aout adjusted for the meter

        interet & principal."

        La fourmi n'est pas preteuse

        c'est-la son moindre defaut.

        "Que faisez-vous au temps chaud?"

        dit elle a cette emprunteuse.

        "Nuit & jour, a tout venant

        je chantois, ne vous deplaise."

        "Vous chantiez? J'en suis fort aise;

        et bien, dansez maintenant."

le propre de l'homme

Picked up a copy of Rabelais' to read in the near future, noticed the introductory verses 'aux lecteurs' which conclude:

...
Mieulx est de ris que de larmes* escripre, [=tears]
Pour ce que rire est le propre de l'homme.

Roughly, " 'tis better to write of laughter than of tears / since laughter is the peculiar quality of man."

This should be the rallying cry/motto of all comedians.

Picked up Rabelais since it was apparently (Wikipedia-level apparent) one of Sterne's favorite works (I'm reading Tristram Shandy at the moment. Just finished Slawkenbergius's Tale.)