Everyone knows the definition of the word
“bobo”
, this
“bohemian bourgeois”
mocked by Renaud in 2006 in his delicious eponymous song.
But did you know that in New Caledonia, its meaning is far removed from ours?
The
Caledonian
“bobo”
is a
“pain
-killer”
, a
“particularly annoying, exasperating” person
, we read in
French language
,
rules, traps and curiosities
(Société éditrice du Monde, 2011) by Pascale Cheminée.
While some of our words have a different meaning among our French-speaking neighbors, others are used only at home.
In Quebec, for example, people exclaim
"it's cow time"
when the time comes to go home.
In Guyana, we get up
“with a singing pipiri”
.
The French spoken in French-speaking countries is colored by the local culture and languages.
Did you know that there are no less than 300 million francophones in the world?
The International Organization of La Francophonie, an institutional mechanism dedicated to promoting French in the 88 Member States, lists 132 million French learners around the world, of which 59% of daily speakers are in Africa!
"
Chat
"
,
"ziboulateur"
,
"matoutou"
... The editorial team
invites
you to test your knowledge of these tasty French words.
