French stereotypes aside, the veracity of the affair is that we have inherited, commandeered and purloined copious vocables from René and Renée. You see my point, non ?

I could get into the history of why we have so many words that are derived either from French directly or from Latin via French, but instead I have embedded this quick video to do the job for me. It is part II of a X part series that illustrates the history of English in a funny, hand-waving way.

So after the Normans came in, they deposited loads of words. Words we still use in their original form like abattoir—though Vonnegut’s hypothetical Abattoir-Five does not have the same ring to it—and words we use not in the way the French originally thought them up, like Rendezvous. In the latter case we have taken the second person plural or formal imperative, rendez-vous meaning “present yourself” in this sense and given it the normal, awkward, English treatment. We now own rendezvous as a noun or verb coming to mean meeting place or to meet someone.

Their are literally thousands of such examples; if you are so inclined I invite you to visit the Wikipedia page regarding the subject and there you will find more French-based words in English than you can shake a stick at. I have distilled the list into a few of my favorites. (I will try to limit the gastronomical references like beignet, Boeuf Bourgignon, Béarnaise, bouillabaisse, bourbon and beurre blanc.) (Also, those that start with B.)

• Champerty – This is a legal term describing the illegal act of financing a suit that you have no interest in besides the cut if the suit wins. Basically, you can’t use a lawsuit as an investment opportunity. From the French meaning to “part” the “field”.
  
• Cuckold – The husband of a cheating wife. From the French Cucu (Cuckoo) and the bird’s habit of laying its egg in another birds nest.
• Demur – To raise doubts or show reluctance. From the French meaning to “delay away”.
• Denouement- The end, conclusion or resolution of a play, book, movie or event. From the French meaning to “unknot”.
  
• Ennui – Boredom. Listlessness derived from the lack of passion or excitement. From Latin via French, originally meaning “it is hateful to me” (mihi in odio est).
• Insouciance – Indifference, lack of concern. Literally, “not” plus “worrying”.
• Propinquity – Being close to somebody or something. Close kinship. From Latin via French from the word meaning “near”.

These are but seven of a myriad words that we have thanks to French. And even though it is no longer the Lingua Franca, frankly, it would be unjust not to recognize the influence the Normans had way back when.

Your favorite words in English that we owe to French? Statistically speaking, if you just put one word down in the comments’ section, there is about a 30% chance it came from French in one way or another.

[Definitions adapted from the New Oxford American Dictionary]

http://www.un.org/en/events/motherlanguageday/

“International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The date represents the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.”

As French as I do.

I have started learning French four times before. In high school, college, grad school and once just a year ago. The very basics do not escape me, my pronunciation is coming along and my comprehension leaves a bit to be desired. Nonetheless, I will march into the UN testing center and take their pen-and-paper test. What I am doing now is different than all of my previous attempts; this time I am focusing 80% of my energy to reading, 15% to writing and 5% to speaking and comprehension.

Why?

Because I don’t need to understand oral language necessarily to be able to translate and edit texts out of French. I am doing very few traditional grammar exercises because those work my expressive skills while I want to center on my receptive skills (written, not verbal, comprehension). Being a native English speaker I will never be charged with translating or editing in any other language. (Some do, I won’t.)

The UN network of websites are a great source of practice material. All of their documents are public and most are translated into its official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. I found a few documents in both French and English and I started reading. My background in Spanish helps, I recognize syntax and verb tenses, many vocabulary terms are similar to either Spanish or English. For terms, verbs, phrases, constructions and other things I don’t know, I look them up. I am constantly switching between dictionaries, Google Translate, language forums and the document in French; I keep a notebook and have made flashcards galore. I concentrate on preposition usage and how that can change the meaning of a verb or phrase, false friends and cognates, and set phrases or what I call “power terms”. Don’t ask me why.

Here are a few examples of what I have learned in the first two weeks:

remettre: to put back (something)

But if you use it with en cause it becomes a power term meaning: to challenge, question, undermine

«…en ce qu’il vient remettre en cause le développement social et économique dans le monde entier…»

“…in that it undermines social and economic development throughout the world.”

lier: to tie (up), to bind, to join

In this next sentence, it comes to mean “related”

«...y compris toutes les questions qui y sont liées.»

“…including all matters related thereto.”

faire avancer: to take forward — faire part de: to express, to convey

From a seemingly endless list of what you can do with faire, here are two.

«Les membres de la Conférence ont fait part de leurs vues sur la Réunion de haut niveau destinée à revitaliser les travaux de la Conférence du désarmement et à faire avancer les négociations multilatérales sur le désarmement, tenue le 24 septembre 2010, et sur les débats de suivi de cette Réunion.»

“Members of the Conference expressed their views on the High-Level Meeting (HLM) held on 24 September 2010 on revitalizing the work of the Conference on Disarmament and taking forward multilateral disarmament negotiations and on its follow-up debates.”

I have until July to get my language up to speed. This is how I intend to get there and I will keep you all up to date on my progress. Because I know you care.

What do you think? Tell me what I am doing wrong in the comments section!

It is a wonderful feeling having such a great readership. I would like to thank you all for visiting and for encouraging me to continue writing, for I know all of you have many options when it comes to how you choose to distract yourself while working. I, for one, like to blow the dust off my old physics books and calculate geodesics from my office (a table in the living room) to the kitchen, the bathroom, bedroom and couch. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not do some statistical analysis to corroborate my findings, thus frequent snacks, pee breaks, naps and naps are commonplace. Oh, and I read your blog, too.

Some things you can all look forward to during the next 12 months of what basically equates to a 21st-century version of scribbling on the walls of a cave.

• Shorter, tighter, neater, more concise, more focused, tidier, wittier and less-wordy posts
• Fewer adjectives
• More pictures of the cats
• Five posts in Spanish
• More posts related to language and translation
• Fewer incomplete plays
• More lists

Again, thanks for reading! As a treat for a year of loyalty, I offer pictures of Araña when she was a kitten. Enjoy!

The food dish is regular sized.

Always was a climber

I kid. I don’t advocate having champagne, vodka and gin all in the same day; substitute whatever cocktails you like.

This would be my drink of choice.

In D.C. I treated myself to two brunches that rank in the upper echelon of the World Brunch Order.

The first place we went was the Tabard Inn. This old hotel just off Dupont Circle opened in 1922 and captures that old charm. It has a wonderful waiting area with comfortable couches and a roaring fireplace. We were sat in one of their many dining rooms and promptly ordered their house-made doughnuts. They were rich and satisfying–but they can ruin your meal if you get carried away.

I ordered the poached egg over cheesy grits with fried oysters, confit pork belly and hollandaise. I was really excited to get my meal but I have to admit, the grits were a wee bland. Luckily, the pork belly bits hoisted the whole dish over their greasy shoulders and carried me home. (Though, I do believe you could serve Play-Doh Alfredo with confit pork belly and receive a Michelin star.)

Yup.

The service was friendly, the portions fair and the price within budget. Everything was comfortable and needed just a pinch of salt.

The second place we went to the following week was Birch and Barley near Logan Circle. This place was killer. Upstairs they have their bar with a whole wall of taps. Downstairs houses their large dining room. Here they offer a number of Bloody Marys and Bloody Mary-inspired cocktails as well as a few other classic brunch drinks. In fact, if you order their Boozy Brunch, you get two cocktails with your entree and three of their house-made doughnut holes. Two words: bacon doughnut. It’s a thing and they do it really well.

Bacon doughnut holes and two Bloody Mary-style Bloody Mary drinks.

You have to be careful with these little guys, too. Three doughnut holes is like eating a whole doughnut, and considering that I ordered the chicken and waffles, that is a ton of breakfast. This was my first time with chicken and waffles, but since I was technically in the South, I figured I had to get while the gettin’ was delicious.

Drool fuel.

This dish blew my mind apart. I love the collision of sweet and salty as embodied by syrup and fried. The buttered pecans were exquisite and the residual syrup was a nice treat for when I licked the plate clean. No matter what your scale, Birch and Barley earned full marks for atmosphere, service, food and drink. Besides, all of this for thirty bucks plus tax and tip? Unbeatable.

What other places in D.C. can go toe to toe with these two establishments? I will be back and I will heed your words so let me here them!

[manhattan photo courtesy of http://fivej.wordpress.com/]

[cheesy grits photo courtesy of tripadvisor.com // I was too hungry and forgot to take my own picture, nom nom nom.]

I looked at it after. Guts spewed and smeared on the paper towel, all eight legs slowly finding their final posture. I felt sad, and by sad I mean heroic. You applaud me.

I would not consider myself a coffee snob: I have enough hipster points against me, I need another thing to be snobby about like I need another pair of Wayfarers and the secret knock and password to that bar you didn’t know existed. I consider myself someone who appreciates a well drawn espresso with a hint of milk and a shy poof of foam on top. Ordering it as such makes me sound like a total hipster snob, but I don’t trust the aliases my coffee tends to assume. In Spain, cortado; in Italy, caffè macchiato; in USA, who knows what you will get.

I was lucky enough to befriend a very talented barista named Omar in Washington, D.C. during my stay there. He works at Tryst Coffeehouse and Bar in Adams Morgan. I knew exactly what I was getting when I went there because I sat at the bar and barked my order at him. He complied, but then he also blew my mind with a creation of his own.

Same coffee as last post.

He became aware of my love for spicy food and saw that the bottle of Sriracha at the house was quickly disappearing. To wit, his creation was perfectly aligned with my tastes. He served me a “Mocharacha” (name pending). It is a single, whole milk mocha with just a drop of Sriracha and a bit of foam. Gross sounding, but if you are like me, you’ll find it enchanting. Imagine a cold, dreary, sleety D.C. morning. You go into Tryst and see Omar, you sit and he plops a Mocharacha in front of your face. Grasping the glass with two frozen hands, you sip. At first it’s all coffee with the familiar echo of chocolate not far behind. You swallow–but wait, you can’t taste the Sriracha but you sense it. Its iconic, pungent burn dances on your tongue and high-fives your palette. The effect is not spice, just smolder. Just enough for you to nestle in its footprint after you have vanquished the rest of the coffee.

Moral of the story: Sriracha in your coffee, what can’t this condiment do?

The fallout has presented itself as an extra kilo around the midsection. A reminder that I am no longer 18 with license to eat at will. However, I see this kilo as a nice little challenge to make it go away. Being back to my regular routine where I eat regular-sized portions will help; I shall also get back to running, gnashing my teeth the whole way, no doubt.

Don’t worry, readership. I will be sure to report on all of the caloric fun and mischievous libations that were subject to quality control during my stay in The States. To make it a bit more interesting, a fun little game: what is special about this coffee? Get it right and I’ll rustle you up the recipe See you soon!

It was so good I had to take a sip before snapping the pic for quality control purposes.

Before crossing, I admired how tall I would appear in a two-dimensional world and pondered the tragic irony that the sun’s midday rays, barely bolting over a row of houses, gave the air warmth and suppleness. Optical illusions of the North.

I grew up in a town called Sonoma in California’s wine country; it sits right above 38˚ north latitude. Sonoma gets a furious wet season followed by a long, hot dry season.

Sonoma

As a college student I was fascinated by the prospect of living abroad and I reckoned my languages would nudge me toward Latin America or Spain. It took a few more years than I had originally guessed, but last year I found myself overseas in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

It was quickly apparent that I had moved from a clime with two seasons, wet and dry, to an island that has but one: Spring. It hardly rains and boasts an average year-round temperature of almost 22 ˚C/72 ˚F . Las Palmas owes its meteorological distinctions to its position just under the 29th parallel. Not surprisingly, many Dutch holiday there; so much so that you can find hagelslag, frikandel and satésaus.

The Hague

I never thought I would live in The Hague. The Netherlands, along with the rest of northern Europe, never crossed my mind as potential places of residence. But I have experienced nearly four months of 52˚ N and I am finally penetrating through the sheen of coming to a new city. What once merely sparkled in novelty now speaks volumes. Anonymity is turning into acquaintence, clamor into consonance. I even have my own cobbler.

There is something about this city that resonates within me. I love the fog snuggling into the streets and alleys. The marine air swirling about smells familiar and the rain keeps the city clean. I love that The Hague has much to offer and accepts with open arms what I bring to the table. I feel supremely comfortable within the clutches of this city, not minding that its jacket is wet from the rain and smells suspiciously of broodje haring; it just feels good to be embraced.

Sonoma                     38°17′20″N 122°27′32″W
Las Palmas de G.C. 28°9′N 15°25′W
The Hague                52°5′N 4°19′E

I have been freelancing for a couple of years now, being my own boss, janitor and everything in between. I enjoy working this way. To me, all the benefits outweigh the negatives like having to provide your own insurance, telephone and internet. I do miss, however, having people around.

I suppose it comes with the territory. Shearing the shackles of the punch clock and being the master of your own domain (name) comes at a price. I was lonely and exhibiting the first signs of delirium. My status updates were frequent and pleading. I witnessed my fragile grip on sanity be buried under tweets and videos of cats playing with laser pointers. I swear my keyboard was mocking me.

Keyboards don't talk. Keyboards don't talk. Keyboards don't talk.

Working alone may work for some but not for me. Knowing this I researched and found a number of co-working offices in The Hague. Fellow freelancers have experimented with shared work spaces and loved it. The idea of going somewhere to work on your own project but with the added benefit of interacting with human beings, and not just some avatar, was enticing.

I decided that talking to people would be better for business than talking to my keyboard so I gave it a shot. One such shared space has a nice introductory offer that your first day of work only costs you a box of cookies.

Cookies in one hand and a map in the other (I’m still quite new to the city), I made my way to the office. I sat down at one of the tables by the window, took out my laptop and worked. It was brilliant. I even had lunch with the rest of the digital nomads. While I was working I was able to take in the gorgeous views of the city and of the passing trains. Don’t worry; the noise of the trains is a non-issue.

I helped myself to a complimentary cup of tea and thought, this is going to work. After the first day I was sold and signed on for regular hours.

Here I feel like part of a community, nay, a tribe of digital nomads. I have met web designers, journalists and software developers. I still have my own projects and my own schedule, but now I have that human element that was missing when working from home. Plus, I no longer talk to my keyboard; I gather from its silence that it’s OK with me moving on.

***

www.coworker.nl gives you a nice map with many co-working spots in all of The Netherlands. In The Hague three are listed:

Nomadz (www.nomadz.nl website in Dutch and English) Bink36 building
• First day – box of cookies
• In touch (24 hours/month) – €49/month
• Part-time (20 hours/week) – €160/month
• Full-time (7 days/week)- €245/month

Igluu (www.igluu.nl website in Dutch and English) Louis Couperusplein 2
• Individuals starting from €252/month
• Groups starting from €550/month
• Meetings and events starting from €15/chair

Kleine Loods (www.kleineloods.nl website in Dutch only) Kleine Loo 284
• Flexspace – €15/session
• Work room – €22/session
• Meeting room – €150/session

**Prices from Google translate**

[image courtesy of www.logitech.com]