The French curse word of choice is more often than not an English one. Listen to this week's edition of The Local podcast as Editor Ben McPartland discusses why the French love to say 'f**k'.
A row over whether the French language is too macho has been raging in France in recent weeks. The Local France spoke to a professor leading the charge to make French more female-friendly about how and why things need to change.
The move to force labourers in France to speak French has proven divisive. So is it a good move for safety or is it just the latest form of thinly disguised xenophobia?
The French have unwittingly re-invented a whole set of English words by adding "ing" to the ends of things. Here translator Jane Proctor shares her favourites.
France’s Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin, the chief guardian of the French language, told The Local on Wednesday that she saw no point in protecting French from outside influence like English - a sign that the famous blockade against English words has been lifted.
Ever heard someone say "Tiggy-doo?" in France? It's French (actually spelled Tiguidou) and it's just one example of a long list of Gallic words that you'll never come across in France.
The French language has a plethora of words that if you translated literally into English could cause a fair bit of confusion and hilarity for language learners. From "throat support" to "mouth fun", we've picked out some of the best. Let us know of any more.
A Briton was formally admitted on Thursday into the Académie France's top body charged with preserving the purity of the Gallic tongue. Sir Michael Edwards' election to the Académie was jokingly described by a fellow immortal as "an earthquake, a revolution".
Deciphering the curious shorthand of text messages can be tough even in your native tongue, but in French all manners of communication catastrophes are possible. Fortunately The Local has gathered up and deciphered some essential abbreviations used in French ‘textos’.
In its annual report released this week French TV and radio regulators revealed that French language and culture regularly suffers as the sector expands and that viewers’ main cause for complaint is the unnecessary use of English.
A recent study by a French bank has caused a stir after it concluded that French, not English or Mandarin Chinese, will be the world’s most spoken language by the year 2050. But will it really?
The French have chosen their favourite idioms but to most Anglos the expressions will probably be lost in translation. Take a look through this slideshow and see how many of France's favourite expressions you can understand.
The famous guardians of the French language, the Académie Française, elected its first ever Canadian to join its "immortals" on Thursday. It follows the nomination of a British academic earlier this year. A French teen was also in the running, but missed out.
In what has been described as a “very rare” event, a 15-year-old boy is in the running for a seat at the prestigious Académie Française. On Thursday the institution is set to decide on who will fill the coveted place among France's fabled "Immortals."
Leaders of France’s TV and radio industry met this week to come up with a strategy to boost the French resistance against the invasion of English. The Local went along to find out how the battle lines are being drawn.
French language police have handed down a brand new list of forbidden English words and phrases – from “sexting” to “happy slapping”. Find out what the Gallic versions are that they want used instead. Is France right to ban Anglicisms?
France may be its nearest neighbour, but for the UK the most important language for the future is not French, according to a new report by the British Council this week, that highlighted the ongoing inability of most Britons to master a foreign language.
Have you ever been left lost for words during an argument in French and had to resort to rude gestures to make your point or tell someone exactly where to go? The Local has put together these essential 10 verbal missiles to help you get the upper hand. WARNING: Use with caution.
Learning French in school can be all about the grammar and pronunciation. But the French language is positively packed with some bizarre, hilarious and poetic turns of phrase, that you can use every day to impress the locals, and express exactly what's on your mind. Here's 12 of the best.
French is a difficult language for us expats to learn and if the grammar rules, false friends and tongue-twisting pronunciations weren't taxing enough, things are complicated further by a number of words and expressions that are 'untranslatable'. Here are ten to look out for, along with our interpretations.
