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Perhaps, like me, you have already asked yourself this question: why is an Italian sofa brand called Poltronesofa ? Sofa, I don’t mind, but cowardly ? What is the relationship between a sofa and “a person who lacks physical courage”? I had to delve into an Italian etymology textbook to figure it out. With our transalpine friends, cowardly actually has two meanings. As with us, it means “vile, fearful” (from poltro, untamed colt). But its second meaning is totally unknown to us since it corresponds to “idle, lazy”. And it is she who explains her relationship with the irresistible urge to bask in a comfortable couch.
This finding gave me the idea to look into the origin of a number of words related to our attitudes and behaviors. And I unearthed other surprises, here are:
Bewildered. This term has two meanings, each as unflattering as the other: “without reaction, forbidden, amazed” and “which seems stupid”. Probably because it originally meant “who has spiky hair” and that, in the collective imagination, our hair stands on end when we are frightened. Derived from head (“animal head”), in the 13th century it had an even stronger meaning: “shaggy head of a ferocious beast”. This is why the Iroquois of America, whose hairstyle was bristling, were called “Hurons” by Europeans.
Coward is close to the Latin cauda, tail. For what ? Quite simply because its original meaning is “to flee by showing its tail”.
Dizzy. Let’s stay in the animal kingdom with dazedderived directly from Latin turdus, the thrush. The report ? In popular Latin, the verb exturbatedistant ancestor of our stunmeant “to act madly, to be dazed in the brain like a thrush drunk on grapes”.
Exhausted. This is an adjective that also has a direct link with the drink. Exhausted indeed corresponds to the past participle of a verb which no longer exists today, tip, in other words “drinking excessively”, “being tired from drinking too much”. He ended up referring only to the notion of exhaustion.
Bad. Before designating an individual who “seeks to harm or cause inconvenience”, “wicked” corresponded to the present participle of the verb mescheoirs, where we recognize our verb “choir”. In old French, mean therefore meant “who falls badly” and had a bit of the meaning of “unhappy”. Thereafter, he took that of “casting a bad spell on his neighbour” before becoming synonymous with “brutal”, “harmful” and “cruel”.
silly. If this adjective today designates a naive and a little stupid person, it once evoked the falcon barely out of the nest, which therefore had to be de-silly. In the same register, one can also cite lure. Originally, the verb had a restrictive definition: to bring the falcon back on the fist by means of a decoy (that is to say a piece of leather trimmed with feathers, in the shape of a bird). It was in the 15th century that it took on the figurative meaning of “attract”.
Overbearing is derived from besides – so far, I’m not telling you anything – and from the Latin verb cogitare – there, on the other hand, you must be less likely to be clever. The latter evolved to give in Old French cook, in the sense of “thinking”, but also of “imagining” and “wrongly believing”. It is this meaning that we have kept in audacious, present participle of the old overbearing, in other words “to believe oneself superior to what one is.” A lesson in humility that applies to all eras.
FIND VIDEOS DEDICATED TO FRENCH AND THE LANGUAGES OF FRANCE ON my youtube channel
Sources
– Historical dictionary of the French languageLeRobert.
– Dictionary of the French Academy.
– A thousand years of the French languageby Alain Rey, Frédéric Duval and Gilles Siouffi.
– From the Tower of Babel to French turns of phraseby Michel de Grave.
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In the French Basque Country, 1 in 5 people speak Basque
The number of Basque speakers remains stable in France, with 51,500 people in 2021, i.e. a gain of 500 speakers in ten years – a remarkable result in itself in a country where the status of minority languages is particularly unfavorable. Better: thanks to the success of the teaching of Basque, the share of speakers among 16-24 year olds has increased from 12.2% in 2001 to 21.5% in 2021. On the other hand, given the attractiveness demographic of the territory, the total share of Basque speakers in the population has fallen slightly in ten years, dropping from 21.4% to 20.1%. These are some of the lessons learned from the sociolinguistic survey, the results of which have just been presented.
When Putin uses the Russian language to justify his military interventions
In 2014 as in 2022, Russia brandished the argument of protecting the Russian language and Russian-speaking populations to justify its military interventions in Ukraine. In response, the Ukrainian language regained popularity. The same goes for the national languages of other former Soviet republics formerly dominated by Russian (listen also to the L’Express podcast on this topic).
And you, have you ever fallen into the quoicoubeh trap?
“Quoicoubeh” is a tendency which exploded in 2023 on the TikTok social network. A popular language diversion among teenagers, who use it to undermine the authority of adults. A phenomenon analyzed here by linguist Julie Neveux.
The hyperaccelerated match against time lapse
On March 21, a meeting took place at the French Academy on the theme “French, everyone’s business”. The opportunity to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the French language enrichment system, the first recommendations of which were published in 1973. The opportunity also to discover the work of the terminology enrichment commissions which work under the aegis of the Delegation general to the French language and the languages of France. Example with hyperacceleratedwhich attempts to replace Anglicism time lapse.
Large vegetable, queen of apples & wild herbs
“To wiggle in the begonias : in the language of hairy people, breaking your legs in a plane crash”. “A violet modesty : extreme modesty. Blooming low to the ground, the violet symbolizes discretion, modesty, humility.Limb slack : speaking of a man, not very skillful, not very active in love – “Being hard on the leaf does not prevent being soft on the branch, and vice versa””, said Pierre Dac.” Expressions like these, taken from the words of our gardens, Françoise Guerard has collected 1001, the origin of which she gives us in an erudite and pleasant way.
Large vegetable, queen of apples & wild herbs. The secrets of 1001 flowery and fruity expressions, by Françoise Guerard, Editions de l’Opportun.
First name Artús: the family lawyer attacks France before the UN
Me Stéphane Pagès, the lawyer for Artús Varenne and his parents, seized the United Nations Human Rights Council on April 3 for violations of international law, a first in France for this type of case. The civil status had indeed refused to register the first name Artús – born on December 15, 2022, in Mende (Lozère) – whose spelling comes from Occitan. The lawyer believes that by acting in this way, the French State violates various international treaties prescribing respect for private life and the prohibition of any linguistic discrimination.
On April 7, discover on France 3 the crazy Occitan series The Series
The Series : this is the title of the aptly named series of 5 episodes which will be broadcast on France 3 Occitanie from April 7. Announced as “funny, incredible and general public”, it uses the French, Catalan, Occitan and even Croatian languages. An original series written and produced by two local children: Rouergat Amic Bedel and Tarnais Julien Campredon. A coproduction AnderAnderA (company based in Aveyron), France 3 Occitanie and Piget Films.
A festival of minority languages in Douarnenez
For two days, on March 24 and 25, Rhizoms organized the Bresk festival in Douarnenez, focusing on minority languages and translation. A second edition intended to “explore the richness and power” of these languages, according to the expression of Maria Vial, member of this cultural association.
Death of Jean Lafitte, Gascon specialist
Jean Lafitte died at the age of 92 on March 26. This former air force colonel had devoted a thesis to Gascon, a language he cherished and defended within the Béarnais and Gascon Institute. A language he had also taught on a voluntary basis for several years in Paris. His funeral will be celebrated this Wednesday April 5 at the Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church in Fontenay-aux-Roses (Hauts-de-Seine), where he resided.
Conference in Aurillac on April 7: why and how to save Occitan?
It is on this theme that I will speak this April 7 at 5 p.m. in Aurillac (Cantal), in the atrium of the Hôtel du Département. I will discuss the ideas developed in my latest book How to save regional languages (Héliopoles editions), at the invitation of Françoise Pouget, president of the Association for Occitan coordination and exchanges (Aceoc). Admission is free, but an answer is required on 07 81 93 29 34 or [email protected]
TO WATCH
Evnig bihan er c’hoedby Kerden in Awel
Armel An Hejer on vocals, Malo Carvou on transverse flute, Ronan Bléjean on diatonic accordion, Soig Sibéril on guitar, Jamie Mc Menemy on bouzouki (a kind of lute) and Xavier Lugué on double bass. Together, they form the group Kerden en Awel (Cordes au vent) which celebrates the great richness of Breton repertoires. Captivating.
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