The French Journey

Just a quick, rough translation of an “article” from a French law to give you a taste of what legal French looks and reads like.

Code du travail
Labour/labor/work code

L1221-8 :
Le candidat à un emploi est expressément informé, préalablement à leur mise en oeuvre, des méthodes et techniques d’aide au recrutement utilisées à son égard.
The candidate for a job is expressly informed, prior to its implementation, of recruitment assistance methods and techniques used with respect to the candidate. Continue Reading

Last night there was a riot (émeute) in the Belleville area of Paris, home to a large population of Chinese immigrants and descendants. What was planned to be a peaceful demonstration (manifestation) to speak out (dénoncer) the quarter’s increasing danger for Chinese residents degenerated into a riot that saw cars overturned and riot police on the streets.

The following text explains the origin of the trouble. I have highlighted useful terms:

“Bonjour, je préviens pour ceux qui ne sont pas au courant et qui veulent participer.
“Hello, a heads up for those who don’t know and who would like to participate.

Depuis des décennies déjà, les chinois sont victimes de vols et de racket de la part des noirs et des arabes dans les quartiers chinois de Paris (13ème arrondissement, Belleville …). Continue Reading

Citation / Quote
Source: La nouvel observateur

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Apple a vendu plus de 300.000 iPad pour son lancement

(Reuters) – Apple annonce avoir vendu plus de 300.000 iPad samedi, au premier jour de la commercialisation de sa nouvelle machine, à mi-chemin entre un ordinateur portable et un smartphone.

Ce chiffre comprend les ventes en magasins, y compris les tablettes qui avaient déjà été commandées par internet.

Certains analystes de Wall Street estiment à cinq millions d’unités le nombre d’iPad qui seront vendus par Apple la première année du lancement.

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(Reuters) – Apple have announced the sale of over 300,000 iPads on Saturday, the first day its new machine went on sale, half-way between a laptop and a smartphone.

This figure includes store sales, and the tablets that had already been ordered online.

Some Wall Street analysts estimate that 5m iPad units will be sold by Apple in the first year of its launch.

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1. Fact: French texts generally contain 10% more words than English texts, when comparing translations.

2. annonce avoir vendu = lit. annouce to have sold. Annonce is in the present tense. Avoir is the infinitive (to have) and vendu is in the perfect (ie. past – action is perfectly complete) tense. The translation was reworded to sound natural in English.

3. entre un ordi portable et un smartphone – between a and b. A very versatile phrase.

4. ce chiffre = this figure. Les chiffres are very important to business. Chiffres d’affaires means turnover, often abbreviated as CA in business documentation. Les ventes are just as important, meaning sales.

5 qui avaient (déjà) été commandées – which had (already) been ordered. Note that in French avaient and commandées both have endings which reflect the subject – les tablettes is feminine and plural, so avoir gets the imperfect 3rd person plural ending (they had – avaient) and commandées gets the perfect tense fem. pl. ending – extra e, extra s.

6. Certains = some people/certain people

6. Unités… seront vendus = units… will be sold. Seront is the future tense (3rd person plural) ending of être, to be. Vendus is in the perfect tense, has an extra s to show it’s talking about a plural subject. Will be sold.

Any questions, just ask below. Thanks for reading.

The following excerpt is from a book called Jean de Florette by Marcel Pagnol. I have recommended this book in my booklist, accessed from the menu above, from where you can go ahead and order it if you feel brave enough to tackle the whole thing. Reading in French is one of the best ways to see how the language works, in your own time, and a great story helps it all move along nicely.

This post will guide you through the passage, highlighting a few general facts about how French literature is written.

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Soudain, la figure du Papet se pencha au bord de la barre, et chuchota.
« Bouge plus ! J’ai entendu du bruit…
- Où ? Continue Reading