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French Words 英语里的法文外来语-Entertainment: British Success -Hair idioms
2009-02-27 14:16
French Words 英语里的法文外来语
I've heard there are lots of French words in English. Can you give some examples?

Listen to this programme first and then read the content below. 请先听节目然后再阅读以下内容。

This week’s question comes from Justina in China who wants to know more about French words in English.

We spoke to Erica Gatland, who works for a translation company. She said that over 30% of the English language is made up of French words.

Erica Gatland
Erica Gatland, RWS Translations

Some of these words are the same as in French and are still used in the French language today. Others came from French but have become anglicised as time has passed.

So why are there so many French words in the English language? Well, in the year 1066 in England, the Battle of Hastings (a town on the south coast) took place.

The English king, Harold, was defeated by William of Normandy in France. So a French man became the King of England. He brought his language and his people over to England at that time.

William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror

Once English people took power again though, the English language changed but it was influenced by this period when the King of England was French.

Lots of words used in English came from French and have evolved over the years and become more English. Examples are treasure (in French tresor), cup (in French coupe), letter (lettre), beef (beouf), abolish (abolir) and claim (clamer).

These are just a few examples of thousands. There are also thousands of examples of French words that are exactly the same as French words used in French still today. Here are just a few for you below.

The Eiffel Tower, Paris
There are a lot of French words in English

En suite 带洗手间的卧室 - a bathroom attached to a bedroom.

RSVP (repondez s'il vous plait) (邀请函上)请回复 - please reply (usually found on invitations).

Fiancé/Fiancée 未婚夫 - when you get engaged your husband or wife-to-be becomes your fiancé (man) or fiancée (woman).

Souvenir 纪念品 - something you buy to remind you of a holiday or special event (in French souvenir is a verb - to remember).

Aubergine 茄子 - the British word for eggplant.

Cul-de-sac 死胡同 - a street which is blocked off at one end.

Hors d'oeuvre 餐前小吃 - a starter at a meal.

Thanks for your question Justina. We hope we could give you enough examples.

If you have a question about the English language, send us an email: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk and we might just be able to answer it for you one a page like this.



Glossary 词汇


translation 翻译

anglicised 英国化

battle 战役

defeated 被击败

period 时期

evolved 进化了的

treasure 财富


abolish 废除

attached 附带的

invitations 邀请函

get engaged 订婚

eggplant 茄子

blocked off 堵死的

starter 开胃菜,头盘


Download the script of this programme 点击此处下载文字材料



Entertainment: British Success 娱乐:奥斯卡-英国大胜

在线收听节目

No Longer the Underdog 不再是输家

The cast of Slumdog Millionaire
Nobody expected the film to be such as success
The cast and crew of British movies will no longer be hailed as the underdogs at awards ceremonies. At the recent 81st Oscars ceremony, British actors and movies won no less than 11 awards.

The list of Oscar winners is usually dominated by American films and actors but 2009 has seen a more international flavour to the ceremony.

British actors and actresses have long awaited such global recognition. Kate Winslet was nominated six times for an Oscar before she eventually won the Best Actress award at this year’s ceremony.

Slumdog Millionaire lived up to its status as a global success and movie phenomenon. The low-budget movie swept the board winning eight Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture.

The movie, which documents the life of a young Indian boy after he wins a TV game show, has definitely helped to raise the profile of the British film industry.

Summarising the national feeling, British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, issued a statement saying "Britain is showing it has the talent to lead the world."

A spokesman for the UK Film Council agreed with Mr Brown’s comments but added that many of this year’s movie winners have benefited from national funding.

"With our lottery funding for Man on Wire and The Duchess, and Film4's support for Slumdog Millionaire, last night proved that government support for film can deliver success on a global scale," he said.

Addressing the growing fervour for British film, Slumdog director Danny Boyle has urged people to remain calm and to be realistic after his remarkable Oscar success.

"You’ve got to be careful of claiming that this marks the renaissance of the British film industry. It is one film," he said.


GLOSSARY 词汇表 (收听发音, 请单击英语单词)

cast and crew
演员和工作人员

underdogs
输家

international flavour
国际味道

phenomenon
现象

raise the profile
提升形象和影响力

talent
人才

benefited
受益

lottery funding
彩票集资

fervour
极度热情

realistic
现实的

hailed
称为

dominated
称霸

global recognition
全球认可

swept the board
大获全胜

national feeling
民族感情

spokesman
发言人

national funding
政府拨款

global scale
全球范围

urged
敦促

renaissance
文艺复兴


下载相关辅导材料(PDF格式)
下载材料中不仅包括阅读, 词汇, 语法等练习, 还有单词搜索等游戏. 帮助你英语读写能力, 了解相关的背景知识和语言环境




In this episode, The Teacher introduces you to three idiomatic phrases connected with hair.
Hair idioms

The Teacher wearing a wig and holding a boot to his ear
Watch the video

  • 1. I let my hair down
  • 2. Keep your hair on
  • 3. I'm tearing my hair out


Downloads

Teacher's homework

  • When was the last time you let your hair down? Have you ever told someone to keep their hair on? Tell me about a time when you were tearing your hair out.
  • Send me a sentence or two using these idioms and I'll put my favourites on this page.
Thank you for sending your homework. This topic has now closed.

Sigfrido Martín, Spain
Well, I remember that night I went out with my job colleagues... I really let my hair down... maybe too much because I ended up playing the Stripper!!!
I guess I've already told somebody to keep their hair on, but using a different expression. Anyway, I'm glad I've just learnt this new one, thanx!
Once I was booking a flight on the Internet and, just after thinking twice before going on, I saw how the fares had changed and become more expensive! I was tearing my hair out, aaaagh!!

Betty,China
I'm a student and I always busy doing my endless homework.One day I met a hard one,I thought and thought,but no help,I almost tore my hair out.My mum saw my anxious looking,said'Keep your hair on,just let your hair down!'So,I went out for a walk,and I felt so good!

Saeed Sardari, Iran
I've worked very hard in my job this session and i intent to let my hair down in summer by going to the trip, and after that time i want to keep my hair on at work, because of that my boss cause me tearing my hair out !

Jeong Hyun, Korea
Before our final exams, I was tearing my hair out, but soon it finished, and I let my hair down. But then, when results came, my friend told me to keep my hair on.

ALieN, Korea
When I went on holiday, I went to a party. I let my hair down at the party because it was so nice. But suddenly, two men were fighting. Everyone was tearing their hair out. I also very scared to see them. However, my sister said, "It's just a fight. Keep your hair on." So, I just didn't care about them.

Enteng, Philippines
everytime I let my hair down, someone ask me to keep my hair on only to know that they were referring to my nose hair! so I tore their hair out!;-)

Thanh tran, Vietnam
i met my old friend who had borrowed me 40$ three years ago. i really got angry and yelled at him. that time i could see that he was tearing his hair down he said sorry continously and gave me whole the money borrowed from me. with that money i will let my hair down at weekend at a resort

Orwell, Hong Kong
When I meet my students to discuss their asignments, I may tear my hair out since mostly they haven't read any information about their homework. However, I try my best to let my hair down so as to guide and teach them patiently.

Anna,Poland
I have been argueing with my boyfriend for weeks now,I'm tearing my hair out bacause we can't find any solution and solve the problem,I'm trying to keep my hair on but sometimes it's hard.Maybe a good way to forget about it would be a night out letting our hair down together.



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