Slt Tlm!: The Essential Guide to French Internet and Texting Slang

Cc c Alysa, sa va? Don’t worry if you didn’t understand this message. As you’ve probably guessed, it’s not in standard French, but a sub-language: French internet and text messaging slang. Love it or hate it, this particular slang is pretty common online or if you’re communicating with a French person by text message. That …

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The Beginner’s Guide to the French Alphabet – with Audio

If you want to learn the French alphabet because that’s what many French teachers and courses teach first, stop and ask yourself the following question: What for?   There are many great reasons to learn the French alphabet, as you will see in this article. But there are also lots of great reasons not to …

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When Should You (And Shouldn’t) You Use Enchanté ?

The first time I met my wife’s colleagues, I made a fool of myself. I greeted them, told them my name and they answered: “nice to meet you”. “Yes”, I answered. I didn’t want to answer “yes” of course. What a terrible answer! I just didn’t know the proper way to answer in German (I …

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How to Easily Type and Pronounce the 5 French Accents (With Audio)

French accents are sneaky creatures. They wait in the dark, looking for an innocent letter to jump onto and transform. But what do they want exactly? I mean, sure, they look stylish with their cute little shapes, but are they really necessary? Can’t you just, you know, forget about them? That’s what you’re about to …

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The dangerous meanings of mademoiselle

In France, Mademoiselle is a complicated word! Most of us learn three basic titles in French: Monsieur (abbreviated M.), Madame (abbreviated Mme.), and Mademoiselle (abbreviated Mlle.).  The latter is used, we’re taught, for very young and/or unmarried women.  Pretty straightforward, right? Well, due to the conflicting dynamics of social changes and a certain aspect of …

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