Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Hi guys,

Quite new on this forum, I like to lurk around on non-poker topics.

As you can see I can speak english (hi luckyjimm) but unfortunately just a little american (hi everyone else), so here are a few questions which will give me a better understanding of this forum and, of course, enjoy a sweeter life in this world of madness.

1. Please explain the concept of Fraternity to someone whose culture about american universities can be sumed up in three words : "Bret Easton Ellis".

2. What exactly is a douchebag ? In the Urban Dictionary, I saw "wanker". Litteraly, this would mean a lazy, boring guy. Am I getting close to it ?

3. When someone says something is gay in a situation which is a priori non-gay, what does it mean ? I don't see any translation for this one, as we don't use the expression in french. Not that I want to be politically correct, this is not the point.

Any help will be appreciated.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

1)Fraternity is pretty much a "club" of males at a University. They're supposed to be a brotherhood type thing where everyone is a friend and they do good in the community and school. Pretty much the reason nown for a fraternity though is a social group that parties. The female equivilant is Sorority.

2)A douchebag is someone you don't like, pretty much because you don't like the way they act (usually someone who is different from you). Douchebag is a pretty loose word that is thrown around a lot and there's no solid definition as to who exactly is a douchebag. I'm sure if you knew what a douchebag is, you'd call President Bush a douchebag since I don't think he's too well liked for his actions in France.

3)Saying something is gay is similar to calling someone a douchebag. It's a slam on that particular thing as you not liking it, you not understanding it, you thinking it's "stupid", whatever. The word f-a-g is also used in the same context at times.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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2. What exactly is a douchebag ?

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French people. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

1. Fraternity. I was in one. It's a group of guys who typically live together in a house. Greek fraternities all have secret "rituals" that are practiced in closed meetings. Stereotypes that people apply to fraternities include racism, homophobia, misogyny, and alcohol abuse. Like most stereotypes these ideas exist for a reason but don't apply to all members of the class.

2. For me, a douchebag isn't just someone I don't like, it's an arrogant/offensive person I don't like. A guy driving too slow in the left lane is a dumbass, but a guy who cuts me off is a douchebag.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Thx people, it's clearer this way, I didn't know the difference between fraternity and sorority.

RoundGuy, this one was a cheap shot [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

You can still call our president a *douchebag*, I won't mind.

PS : for rewarding I may answer to any question about France. If anyone ever cares.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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PS : for rewarding I may answer to any question about France. If anyone ever cares.

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What is your favorite kind of cheese? Wine?

Why do you hate freedom? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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RoundGuy, this one was a cheap shot [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]


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All in good fun, my friend, all in good fun.

I like the French, but why don't the French like Americans?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

The French don't like anybody, do they?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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All in good fun, my friend, all in good fun.

I like the French, but why don't the French like Americans?

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No probs, I don't master this forum's smileys system.

I wouldn't say that. Around me, I don't believe anyone has anything to say against americans. I mean we spend our nights watching NBA, TV series and playing HE.

French people don't like your president and believe to have a more social-friendly system, our conservative party is more liberal (in the american way) than your democratic party.

People who say they don't like americans take the ones who get an Extreme Relooking as standard americans.

[ QUOTE ]
What is your favorite kind of cheese? Wine?

Why do you hate freedom? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't really like cheese.
Bordeaux.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]


[ QUOTE ]
What is your favorite kind of cheese? Wine?



[/ QUOTE ]
I don't really like cheese.
Bordeaux.


[/ QUOTE ]

Isn't that an exilable offense over there?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

I wanted to clarify the use of douchebag, as I believe that the word "douche" means shower in french.

In America douche is something that women use to clean their "lady parts" when they are smelling "not so fresh and clean." The apparatus used to insert this liquid is called a douchebag, and thus calling someone a douchebag is intended to be degrading and offensive.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
Thx people, it's clearer this way, I didn't know the difference between fraternity and sorority.

RoundGuy, this one was a cheap shot [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

You can still call our president a *douchebag*, I won't mind.

PS : for rewarding I may answer to any question about France. If anyone ever cares.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are french people mad at us because Burger King turned the beloved croissant into a croisandwich?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Tik > Not at all.

Typical french issue : someone opens the fridge, evacuate the kitchen.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

dopelganger > thx, that's exactly the point I was missing. You're right, douche = shower.

pokerbobo > BK has left France years ago, we have McDonald's, Quick (belgian), and KFC (developing). Anyway I avoid fast-foods.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Bon Jour. Just to clarify, a fraternity is usually composed of a bunch of douchebags. Carry on.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

So now that you understand what it means, how do you say douchebag in French?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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So now that you understand what it means, how do you say douchebag in French?

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Le douchebag.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
So now that you understand what it means, how do you say douchebag in French?

[/ QUOTE ]
The problem with slang is that it's so idiomatic that you can hardly find any word-to-word translation. For instance, you watch a movie, the character drops the f-bomb, there are several different translations according to the context.

Imagine a tennisman making a double fault on a match point, he'll say f***, in french you'd say... er I can't remember how you say prostitute in slang (bitch ?), but that's what a french tennisman would say in the same circumstance.

So I can't think about a word that would mean the same as douchebag.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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Bon Jour. Just to clarify, a fraternity is usually composed of a bunch of douchebags. Carry on.

[/ QUOTE ]
This could lead to another argument. I believe some people would disagree with this, but we don't have anything like this here, so I can't say I (dis)agree.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Please, tell me why it is considered acceptable for staff in the ACF to DEMAND tips. Got freerolled in a big pot, but luckily managed to win your money back + 5 euros? 'Don't forget the dealer, sir!'. How much does a coke cost here? 'Just the tip sir, 2 euros'. I could go on and on about this.

Also, why do people pretend not to speak English? We're in a big supermarket-type store on the Champs Elysees. One of my buddies was refused entry into the ACF because of his sneakers, and they referred us there. The following conversation literally happened:

Me, as slowly and clearly as I can: 'Excuse me miss, we would like to buy a pair of shoes.'

Her: 'Je ne comprends pas. Ne parle pas anglais, desolee.'

Me: 'Nous voudrions acheter des... <gesture> shoes!'

Her, with no accent at all: 'Ah, you want shoes? What kind of shoes? (..) To get into the casino? We have a bunch of nice shoes over there, have a look!'

WTF?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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So now that you understand what it means, how do you say douchebag in French?

[/ QUOTE ]

Le douchebag.

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No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the [censored] a douchebag is. They call it "une salope."

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Never been to ACF, should be done within a couple of weeks though.

I know there's tipping there, but don't know when you've got to.

About the shoes, the ACF has a strict policy, the usually lend you shoes. For this nice little chat, I'll refer you to the Twlight Zone.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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Bon Jour. Just to clarify, a fraternity is usually composed of a bunch of douchebags. Carry on.

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This could lead to another argument. I believe some people would disagree with this, but we don't have anything like this here, so I can't say I (dis)agree.

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I don't think there's any disagreement on this issue actually.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So now that you understand what it means, how do you say douchebag in French?

[/ QUOTE ]

Le douchebag.

[/ QUOTE ]
No man, they got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the [censored] a douchebag is. They call it "une salope."

[/ QUOTE ]

NH sir!

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So now that you understand what it means, how do you say douchebag in French?

[/ QUOTE ]
The problem with slang is that it's so idiomatic that you can hardly find any word-to-word translation. For instance, you watch a movie, the character drops the f-bomb, there are several different translations according to the context.

Imagine a tennisman making a double fault on a match point, he'll say f***, in french you'd say... er I can't remember how you say prostitute in slang (bitch ?), but that's what a french tennisman would say in the same circumstance.

So I can't think about a word that would mean the same as douchebag.

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Or maybe you'd be confused and think he saw a phoque? That would be strange on a tennis court.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

Is it true that the French planted trees so that the Germans could march in the shade?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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So I can't think about a word that would mean the same as douchebag.

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What about "con", Frelo? I think that's close.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]

Also, why do people pretend not to speak English?

...

The following conversation literally happened:

Me, as slowly and clearly as I can: 'Excuse me miss, we would like to buy a pair of shoes.'

Her: 'Je ne comprends pas. Ne parle pas anglais, desolee.'

Me: 'Nous voudrions acheter des... <gesture> shoes!'

Her, with no accent at all: 'Ah, you want shoes? What kind of shoes? (..) To get into the casino? We have a bunch of nice shoes over there, have a look!'

WTF?

[/ QUOTE ]

Believe it or not, there are people in the world who think their language is pretty nifty and would like for you to make at least a minimal effing effort to speak it when your in their [censored] country.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

op is the worst french guy ever.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Also, why do people pretend not to speak English?

...

The following conversation literally happened:

Me, as slowly and clearly as I can: 'Excuse me miss, we would like to buy a pair of shoes.'

Her: 'Je ne comprends pas. Ne parle pas anglais, desolee.'

Me: 'Nous voudrions acheter des... <gesture> shoes!'

Her, with no accent at all: 'Ah, you want shoes? What kind of shoes? (..) To get into the casino? We have a bunch of nice shoes over there, have a look!'

WTF?

[/ QUOTE ]

Believe it or not, there are people in the world who think their language is pretty nifty and would like for you to make at least a minimal effing effort to speak it when your in their [censored] country.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you (and a lot of people in France) feel so strongly this? Do you consider it a personal insult if people address you in Engish?

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Also, why do people pretend not to speak English?

...

The following conversation literally happened:

Me, as slowly and clearly as I can: 'Excuse me miss, we would like to buy a pair of shoes.'

Her: 'Je ne comprends pas. Ne parle pas anglais, desolee.'

Me: 'Nous voudrions acheter des... <gesture> shoes!'

Her, with no accent at all: 'Ah, you want shoes? What kind of shoes? (..) To get into the casino? We have a bunch of nice shoes over there, have a look!'

WTF?

[/ QUOTE ]

Believe it or not, there are people in the world who think their language is pretty nifty and would like for you to make at least a minimal effing effort to speak it when your in their [censored] country.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you (and a lot of people in France) feel so strongly this? Do you consider it a personal insult if people address you in Engish?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not that I've ever experienced this issue, but if tourists in my own country habitually expected me to converse poorly in their language so as to save them the hassle and effort of having to converse poorly in my language, I'd find it pretty freaking annoying.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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Is it true that the French planted trees so that the Germans could march in the shade?

[/ QUOTE ]
Dunno. High school is long ago.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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So I can't think about a word that would mean the same as douchebag.

[/ QUOTE ]

What about "con", Frelo? I think that's close.

[/ QUOTE ]
Could be.

BTW "con" originally means vagina.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

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Why do you (and a lot of people in France) feel so strongly this? Do you consider it a personal insult if people address you in Engish?

[/ QUOTE ]
You can't prevent people from being... douchebags.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Also, why do people pretend not to speak English?

...

The following conversation literally happened:

Me, as slowly and clearly as I can: 'Excuse me miss, we would like to buy a pair of shoes.'

Her: 'Je ne comprends pas. Ne parle pas anglais, desolee.'

Me: 'Nous voudrions acheter des... <gesture> shoes!'

Her, with no accent at all: 'Ah, you want shoes? What kind of shoes? (..) To get into the casino? We have a bunch of nice shoes over there, have a look!'

WTF?

[/ QUOTE ]

Believe it or not, there are people in the world who think their language is pretty nifty and would like for you to make at least a minimal effing effort to speak it when your in their [censored] country.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why do you (and a lot of people in France) feel so strongly this? Do you consider it a personal insult if people address you in Engish?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not that I've ever experienced this issue, but if tourists in my own country habitually expected me to converse poorly in their language so as to save them the hassle and effort of having to converse poorly in my language, I'd find it pretty freaking annoying.

[/ QUOTE ]
In the quoted story, she didn't speak poorly in his language, she spoke perfectly and accent-free.

Re: Vocabulary - Help foreigners get the best of your forum
 

I do realize that if they genuinely don't understand me, that's my problem and not theirs, I'm the visitor. I also totally understand if a person knows a little English, but hasn't had a lot of practice, and is uncomfortable with it. Speaking a foreign language you don't know that well can feel kind of embarrassing. Takes getting used to.

So, Foreign Pissed-off Guy et al., I usually do make that effort, I consider it a sign of respect. However, it shouldn't be mandatory. That day I just happened to be dog tired. If you won't speak English with me because you can't or don't feel comfortable enough with it, that's fine. But if I'm polite, and you are more than capable of answering me, but just flat out won't because of some stuck-up principle, it is you that is rude.

DISCLAIMER: of course there are countries where people have legit reasons for this behavior, and I respect that. France, however, hasn't been among those countries for a long, long time.

Reminds me of this story: my uncle and his family were yelled at and refused service at a Czech gas station for speaking German - until they heard him speak another language (Dutch) with his children, at which point they apologized and were more than happy to assist him. In German.