Latest news with #LePetitLarousse
Local France
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
La Belle Vie: Record-breaking French pastries and new French words to build your vocab
La Belle Vie is our regular look at the real culture of France – from language to cuisine, manners to films. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to your newsletter preferences in 'My account'. I love a good tarte aux fraises . Every time I walk into a boulangerie , I am tempted to buy one. Instead of a chocolate or vanilla birthday cake, I ask for strawberry each year. Still, I don't think I love strawberry cake as much as the French pastry chefs who just won a world record for the world's longest strawberry cake, at 121.8 metres and weighing in at 1.2 tonnes. Advertisement This isn't the first time France has tried to win a baking-related world record. Last year, French boulangers attempted to make the world's longest baguette . It's fair to say that baking and pastry-making are not taken lightly here. 5 things to know about French pâtisserie I have heard some allegations recently about French bread getting worse, as more bakeries turn to pre-made, frozen treats. To my American sensibilities, I am still continuously impressed by the quality at French bakeries, as well as their general availability. In our neighbourhood, we have five within a five minute walk, though to be fair we have picked our top two for bread and our top two for pastries. 'Tastes like straw' - Are French bread and croissants really getting worse? If you visit your French boulangerie next week, you might find that on Thursday the bakery is closed. May 1st is a public holiday in France. This year there is a greater chance of bakeries taking the day off after many got in trouble last year for failing to pay their workers the mandatory double rate. As for May Day generally, it's an interesting holiday in France. It really captures something unique about the French spirit (and love for protesting), but its origins are actually on the other side of the Atlantic. What May Day really means to the French The month of May also comes with two other public holidays this year, and while this might be exciting in terms of days off and trips away, it also means it is prime strike time for workers - this year rail unions have filed strike notices over the May holiday weekends. Advertisement French rail services are stepping things up in one area. Starting next year, the new TGV-M trains will hit the tracks, and they are set to include a special two-storey 'cathedral-style' buffet car, but in the meantime SNCF has unveiled a new 'bistro style' menu on on-train meals. SNCF unveils 'bistro dining' on French train services In other news, each year the French dictionary Le Petit Larousse unveils the new words it will add to its collection. This year, the dictionary announced 150 new words would make their way into the book. We got a sneak peak at some of them, and they really showcase the ever-evolving nature of the French language, from the influence of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games to the constant presence of technology in our day-to-day lives. TEST: Guess the 15 new words added to French dictionary And I couldn't help but notice that several of these new words were 'masculine' nouns (meaning you'd add the le or un in front), for example, the increasingly popular tennis-like sport padel is le padel, not la padel. It can feel like a mystery which words end up as masculine or feminine, but once they become official enough to pass by the desk of the 'immortals' in France's Académie Française, we mere mortals receive a firm answer. Who decides if new French words are masculine or feminine?
Local France
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Local France
TEST: Guess the 15 new words added to French dictionary
The French dictionary Le Petit Larousse will add 150 new words to its 2026 edition, which will become available to the public on May 21st. The dictionary's editors told the French press that Le Petit Larousse is meant to "reflect the evolution of the French language", including words that come from different parts of the French-speaking world. In order to be included, new words must meet two qualifications; they must be 'shared' (in the sense that multiple different groups use the term) and 'widely used'. Here's a selection of the new words; Le téléprésentiel A mix of work-from-home ( télétravail ) and in-office work ( présentiel ) - this refers to something that would allow for both remote learning or work, at the same time as the in-person alternative. For example, the teacher might set up a zoom link to record the in-person class so that people can follow along from home. Or a meeting might be a mixture of in-person attendance with other staff members dialling in remotely. There are several different variations of this. Le padel A sport growing in popularity in France, le padel involves four players with rackets who hit a ball over a net in a 20m by 10m enclosed court (allowing for rebounds). The sport combines elements of tennis and squash. Le food truck Advertisement One of several anglicisms that made it into Le Petit Larousse, a food truck refers to a small truck or vehicle that has been converted to include a mobile kitchen. They serve takeaway dishes and have become more common at French markets in recent years. L'umami This Japanese word refers to what many chefs consider the fifth fundamental taste (in addition to sweet, sour, salty, and bitter) - it's been commonly used in English for some time, and has now arrived in French too. The flavour has to do with something being savoury, and it's found in dishes high protein (eg meat). It is common in Asian cuisine, with soy sauce seen as 'umami'. Les feux zombies Forest fires that may appear to be extinguished on the surface, but in reality continue burning below the ground, even during the winter. READ MORE: French words and phrases you will only hear in the south-west Le cécifoot This sport was one of the highlights of the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, and now has made it into the dictionary. Cécifoot refers to soccer or football for the blind and visually impaired - in English it's usually just called Blind Football. Teams can use a guide to help direct players, but otherwise the ball is equipped with a noise-making device so the players can locate it by sound. There are five players per team, including a goalkeeper (who is sighted). In the Paris Games it was staged in the temporary pitches below the Eiffel Tower. Advertisement PMR This acronym stands for personne à mobilité réduite , meaning a person with reduced mobility. This could be a person who uses a wheelchair, but it can also include other groups of people with difficulty moving or getting around eg pregnant women or the elderly. L'autophobie The irrational fear of isolation or being alone. Asexuel (asexuelle) This adjective refers to a person who does not experience sexual attraction to anyone, regardless of their gender. Un supercentenaire A person who is older than 110. In 2022, France counted 39 people who died aged 110 or older, of whom 38 were women. A supercentenaire is not the same as a centenaire (person older than 100). France had, as of 2024 , 31,644 centenaires . In English we use super-centenarian, although the term is less common. La périménopause Advertisement The period preceding menopause when women experience irregular menstrual cycles and sometimes the early symptoms of menopause. The term - the same in English - has been widely used in medical circles for years and has its own section on the French public health site Ameli, so it's something of a mystery why it's only now making its way into the dictionary. Un modèle de langage This translates as a 'language model' in English, which is a term in artificial intelligence referring to the algorithms used to train AI. The more usually term for language in French is langue (eg il parle trois langues - he speaks three languages) but in this case langage is used. There is a small distinction between these two words, despite the fact that they are often used interchangeably. Langage is more broadly defined as any system of communication and is more likely to be used when discussing technology (e.g. Langage de programmation ), while langue is the product (the precise sounds and gestures used by a social group to communicate). READ MORE: Who decides if new French words are masculine or feminine? Un prompt This anglicism refers to the instruction that is given to an algorithm or AI model before asking it to generate something, like a text, image or sound. It's common for English language tech terms to be incorporated into French, eg le wifi, un post (on social media) or 'liker' - to like a social media post. Le tapissage This does not have to do with carpets ( tapis ). Instead, it might come up when watching a police show, and apparently has gained popularity thanks to US-based police dramas. It refers to the police procedure of asking a victim to identify their assailant from behind a one-way glass window. The police officer shows the victim a line-up of several people, and it is up to the victim to identify the person who attacked them. The official French term for this is identification parade . La micromobilité The category of methods of transport that are respectful to the environment and help people avoid driving, such as cycling or taking an electric scooter. Famous people? The Petit Larousse dictionary also includes 28,000 proper nouns, to help explain the important places and people of the day. In this edition, several iconic French people were added, like the champion Olympic swimmer Léon Marchand, as well as the winning cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (also known as PFP). It also included some foreign names, like the American Simone Biles (one of the greatest gymnasts of all time), plus the American film director Wes Anderson.
