Main similarities and differences

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Post by [A]dmin on Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:49 pm

Main similarities and differences

You may know much more French than you think! French and English are
close cousins in the world family of languages, and have many thousands
of words in common.
Within moments of your arrival, you could see any of the following
words on signs in a French town. These will help you get your bearings.

hôtel
restaurant
garage

bar
cinéma
avenue
The same spelling doesn't mean the pronunciation is the same. Here are a few examples:

service
brochure
train café
terrible
double
There are also many words in French that look like English words, but have taken on different meanings:

le parking car park
le speaker announcer
The way you emphasise a French word can take some getting used to. There's much more stress on the end of words than in English:

English
parking
restaurant French
le parking
le restaurant
The order of words can also be the reverse of the English equivalents, as in the following examples:
a Place de la Bastille
Bastille Square (lit. the Square of the Bastille)
Rue de Rivoli

Rivoli St (lit. the Street of Rivoli)

centre-ville

city centre (lit. centre town)

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