Author: Marcel Lucont Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing ISBN: 1780091168 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 158
Book Description
Marcel Lucont, France's premier misanthropist and lover, introduces the reader to the British character as seen through the eyes of the French. From food and weather to television and pets, he shares his disdainful opinion on all things British and offers advice on just why the French do it so much better. The book features: "Dans La Rue", an eye-spy parody set on the British high street; "Tits of the Brits", a poem concerning the large British bust vs the petite French cup; "Stolen French", a guide to words the British have stolen from the French; "The British Joke", Marcel's take on British humour; and, "The Monarchy", including why the French got rid of theirs.
Author: Sudhir Hazareesingh Publisher: Basic Books ISBN: 0465061664 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
An award-winning historian presents an absorbing account of the French mind, shedding light on France's famous tradition of intellectual life Why are the French such an exceptional nation? Why do they think they are so exceptional? The French take pride in the fact that their history and culture have decisively shaped the values and ideals of the modern world. French ideas are no less distinct in their form: while French thought is abstract, stylish and often opaque, it has always been bold and creative, and driven by the relentless pursuit of innovation. In How the French Think, the internationally-renowned historian Sudhir Hazareesingh tells the epic and tumultuous story of French intellectual thought from Descartes, Rousseau, and Auguste Comte to Sartre, Claude Lé-Strauss, and Derrida. He shows how French thinking has shaped fundamental Westerns ideas about freedom, rationality, and justice, and how the French mind-set is intimately connected to their own way of life-in particular to the French tendency towards individualism, their passion for nature, their celebration of their historical heritage, and their fascination with death. Hazareesingh explores the French veneration of dissent and skepticism, from Voltaire to the Dreyfus Affair and beyond; the obsession with the protection of French language and culture; the rhetorical flair embodied by the philosophes, which today's intellectuals still try to recapture; the astonishing influence of French postmodern thinkers, including Foucault and Barthes, on postwar American education and life, and also the growing French anxiety about a globalized world order under American hegemony. How the French Think sweeps aside generalizations and easy stereotypes to offer an incisive and revealing exploration of the French intellectual tradition. Steeped in a colorful range of sources, and written with warmth and humor, this book will appeal to all lovers of France and of European culture.
Author: Stephen Clarke Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 1596917431 Category : Travel Languages : en Pages : 276
Book Description
Have you ever walked into a half-empty Parisian restaurant, only to be told that it's "complet"? Attempted to say "merci beaucoup" and accidentally complimented someone's physique? Been overlooked at the boulangerie due to your adherence to the bizarre foreign custom of waiting in line? Well, you're not alone. The internationally bestselling author of A Year in the Merde and In the Merde for Love has been there too, and he is here to help. In Talk to the Snail, Stephen Clarke distills the fruits of years spent in the French trenches into a truly handy (and hilarious) book of advice. Read this book, and find out how to get good service from the grumpiest waiter; be exquisitely polite and brutally rude at the same time; and employ the language of l'amour and le sexe. Everything you need is here in this funny, informative, and seriously useful guide to getting what you really want from the French.
Author: Sándor G. J. Hervey Publisher: Psychology Press ISBN: 0415255228 Category : Engelsk sprog Languages : en Pages : 304
Book Description
This new edition features material from business, law and literary texts. This is Essential reading for advanced undergraduates and postgraduate students of French, the book will also appeal to language students and tutors.
Author: Lauren Collins Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 014311073X Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 258
Book Description
A language barrier is no match for love. Lauren Collins discovered this firsthand when, in her early thirties, she moved to London and fell for a Frenchman named Olivier—a surprising turn of events for someone who didn’t have a passport until she was in college. But what does it mean to love someone in a second language? Collins wonders, as her relationship with Olivier continues to grow entirely in English. Are there things she doesn’t understand about Olivier, having never spoken to him in his native tongue? Does “I love you” even mean the same thing as “je t’aime”? When the couple, newly married, relocates to Francophone Geneva, Collins—fearful of one day becoming "a Borat of a mother" who doesn’t understand her own kids—decides to answer her questions for herself by learning French. When in French is a laugh-out-loud funny and surprising memoir about the lengths we go to for love, as well as an exploration across culture and history into how we learn languages—and what they say about who we are. Collins grapples with the complexities of the French language, enduring excruciating role-playing games with her classmates at a Swiss language school and accidently telling her mother-in-law that she’s given birth to a coffee machine. In learning French, Collins must wrestle with the very nature of French identity and society—which, it turns out, is a far cry from life back home in North Carolina. Plumbing the mysterious depths of humanity’s many forms of language, Collins describes with great style and wicked humor the frustrations, embarrassments, surprises, and, finally, joys of learning—and living in—French.
Author: Tommy Barnes Publisher: Muswell Press ISBN: 1999811755 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 236
Book Description
Frustrated by a dead end job, fed up with renting in London and the loathsome daily commute and, to cap it all, failing to make it as a stand-up comedian, Tommy Barnes was at breaking point. But he didn't break - instead he made himself redundant and took off to France with girlfriend Rose to pursue his dream of brewing beer
Author: Irving Goh Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000712486 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 203
Book Description
This collection presents a sort of counter-history or counter-genealogy of the globalization of French thought from the point of view of scholars working in the UK. While the dominating discourse would attribute the US as the source of that globalization, particularly through the 1966 conference on the Languages of Criticism and the Sciences of Man at Johns Hopkins University, this volume of essays serves as a reminder that the UK has also been a principal motor of that globalization. The essays take into account how French thought and literary theory have institutionally taken shape in the UK from the 70s to today, highlight aspects of French thought that have been of particular pertinence or importance for scholars there, and outline how researchers in the UK today are bringing French thought further in terms of teaching and research in this twenty-first century. In short, this volume traces how the country has been behind the reception and development of French thought in Anglophone worlds from the late 70s to the present.
Author: Stephen Clarke Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 1596917466 Category : Travel Languages : en Pages : 300
Book Description
A Year in the Merde is the almost-true account of the author's adventures as an expat in Paris. Based on his own experiences and with names changed to "avoid embarrassment, possible legal action-and to prevent the author's legs being broken by someone in a Yves Saint Laurent suit", the book is narrated by Paul West, a twenty-seven-year-old Brit who is brought to Paris by a French company to open a chain of British "tea rooms." He must manage of a group of lazy, grumbling French employees, maneuver around a treacherous Parisian boss, while lucking into a succession of lusty girlfriends (one of whom happens to be the boss's morally challenged daughter). He soon becomes immersed in the contradictions of French culture: the French are not all cheese-eating surrender monkeys, though they do eat a lot of smelly cheese, and they are still in shock at being stupid enough to sell Louisiana, thus losing the chance to make French the global language. The book will also tell you how to get the best out of the grumpiest Parisian waiter, how to survive a French business meeting, and how not to buy a house in the French countryside. The author originally wrote A Year in the Merde just for fun and self-published it in France in an English-language edition. Weeks later, it had become a word-of-mouth hit for expats and the French alike. With translation rights now sold in eleven countries and already a bestseller in the UK and France, Stephen Clarke is clearly a Bill Bryson (or a Peter Mayle...) for a whole new generation of readers who can never quite decide whether they love-or love to hate-the French.
Author: Seán Lang Publisher: John Wiley & Sons ISBN: 0470978198 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 467
Book Description
Royally confused about kings and queens? Never sure what happened when? Or where — England, Scotland, Ireland, or Wales? Learn the people and events that shaped British history British History For Dummies, 3rd Edition is full of rip-roaring stories of power-mad kings, executions, invasions, high treason, global empire building, and forbidden love — not bad for a nation of stiff upper lips. Engaged travelers, lifelong learners, history buffs, and students will all enjoy this friendly and accessible guide written in, well, plain English. This book is for you if you studied British History in school (perhaps a while ago) or learned only a bit about Wales or Scotland or Ireland and want to know more. And if you've ever asked yourself, "What kingdoms are part of the United Kingdom?" or "Exactly how was the UK formed?" or "Which people make up the UK?" — you've come to the right place, to get those answers and so much more. With an 8-page color insert so you can see who, what, and where the ensuing historical action takes place, you’ll learn about the following people and events (and more): What led to the Roman invasion and about the Britons who resisted it How Britain was divided into Saxon and Celtic kingdoms How the Roman Church converted Celtic and British Christians When the Vikings arrived, and what other invaders followed The many battles of Henry II The forming of England’s parliament How the Black Death affected Britain The Tudors vs. The Stuarts How the Industrial Revolution helped push advancements in farming and infrastructure All about the Victorians — everyone's favorite Britain’s involvement in the Great War and World War II Additionally, this edition is revised and expanded to include the historical parliamentary elections of 2010 and the British mission in Afghanistan, and you don't want to miss out. Pick up your copy of British History For Dummies, 3rd Edition today.
Author: Marcel Lucont
Author: Sudhir Hazareesingh
Author: Stephen Clarke
Author: Robert Tombs
Author: Sándor G. J. Hervey
Author: Lauren Collins
Author: Tommy Barnes
Author: Irving Goh
Author: Stephen Clarke
Author: Seán Lang