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The Complete Merde!
Sacre bleu! Even though your French teachers stuffed the subjunctive and imperfect down your throat, they failed to give you all the necessary tools to communicate like a native. French argot (slang) is more than just dirty words (though, have no fear, you'll find them here), it's an immensely rich language with its own words for very ordinary things, words that are in constant use.
The Complete Merde! is a survival guide to the real French you were never taught at school. From body parts (and we don't mean "la tete" or "les yeux") and the ever-popular and long-sought bodily functions to various and sundry epithets for every occasion, Genevieve introduces must-know basics for everyday French. She builds on your true French education with an enormous range of colorful idioms, essential for anyone who wants to speak the language as it is really spoken. As an added treat, she gives instructions in the correct use of impassioned Gallic gestures$151;those silent but expressive signals so beloved by French motorists and shopkeepers.
Most important, she reveals how the French language, both spoken and written, is a key to the spirit and character of the people who use it. With infectious humor, she exposes the idiosyncratic attitudes that have produced so great a wealth of vivid expressions.
Readers who delighted in Genevieve's deliciously naughty book Merde! and its fabulous follow-up Merde Encore! will be doubly glad to have both books in one delectable hardcover volume. Learning how to express yourself on food, hygiene, sex, and even death has never been more fun. Zut alors!
The Complete Merde! is a survival guide to the real French you were never taught at school. From body parts (and we don't mean "la tete" or "les yeux") and the ever-popular and long-sought bodily functions to various and sundry epithets for every occasion, Genevieve introduces must-know basics for everyday French. She builds on your true French education with an enormous range of colorful idioms, essential for anyone who wants to speak the language as it is really spoken. As an added treat, she gives instructions in the correct use of impassioned Gallic gestures$151;those silent but expressive signals so beloved by French motorists and shopkeepers.
Most important, she reveals how the French language, both spoken and written, is a key to the spirit and character of the people who use it. With infectious humor, she exposes the idiosyncratic attitudes that have produced so great a wealth of vivid expressions.
Readers who delighted in Genevieve's deliciously naughty book Merde! and its fabulous follow-up Merde Encore! will be doubly glad to have both books in one delectable hardcover volume. Learning how to express yourself on food, hygiene, sex, and even death has never been more fun. Zut alors!
- GenresFranceNonfictionHumor
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 7, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 4, 2011
A delightful little read and a treasure in understanding the actual spoken French just as we never really cover slang in any language class and yet it is how we speak, no matter what the language.
Tant pis que je n'a pas de ce livre quand je voyage en France! j'en ai besoin pendant les demos et avec cet ane a l'aeroporte!
Tant pis que je n'a pas de ce livre quand je voyage en France! j'en ai besoin pendant les demos et avec cet ane a l'aeroporte!
September 11, 2008
Pretty funny, a bit informative, not practical for as little as I use my French these days, but should be entertaining if I have it around next time I'm in the francophone routine.
June 28, 2009
This will be a reference guide for me for many years to come.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews