Tchatter

Recently I came across a couple of French words I hadn’t seen before – tchatter /tʃa.te/ (to chat) and tchat /tʃat/ (chat). As far as I can tell, they seem to refer particularly to online chat. The definition of tchatter on Reverso is “discuter avec d’autres personnes en temps réel depuis un ordinateur.” (to talk with other people in real time via a computer).

Similar words include:

tchatche /tʃatʃ/, which Reverso defines as ‘jabberism’ (have you heard that one before?), patter, loquacity, verbosity, blather, etc. and which appears in the phrase avoir (de) la tchatche or ‘to have the gift of the gab’.

tchatcher /tʃa.tʃe/ – to talk a lot and charmingly

tchatcheur /tʃa.tʃœʁ/ – a great boaster; a voluable or talkative person.

Another French word for to chat is bavarder, and alternatives to tchatter include bavarder en ligne, cyberbavarder and clavarder – the latter is apparently used in Quebec and is a portmanteau of clavier (keyboard) and bavarder.

According to Wikitionaire tchatter, which is also written chatter and chater, comes from the English word chat, which comes from the Middle English word chateren (to chatter), which is thought to be of imitative origin.

Tchatcher and related words apparently come via Pied-Noir slang from the Spanish word chachara (an animated but futile conversation).

To be in the perfume

Yesterday I discovered that one way to say that you’re familiar with something in French is être au parfum, or literally “to be in the perfume of”. Anyone know why perfume is involved in this expression?

English equivalents include ‘to be in the know’, ‘to be clued up’, ‘to be on the ball’, ‘to be in the loop’ – can you think of any others?

Another way to say this in French is être au courant (‘to be in the current’).

Some related expressions in other languages.

A related expression in French is mettre au parfum (‘to put in the perfume’), which means to provide all the necessary information, to put sb in the know.

Les mots de la semaine

– l’indication (f) = clue = arwydd, cliw = arouez
– l’indice (m) = clue (in investigation) = arwydd, cliw = merk rumm
– la définition = clue (in crosswords) = arwydd, cliw
– être au parfum = to be clued up = bod yn gyfarwydd â
– la nageoire = fin (of fish) = asgell = angell
– l’aileron = fin (of shark, dophin) = asgell = angell
– maître nageur (euse) / surveillant de plage = lifeguard = achubwr bywydau = mestr neuñver saveteer
– la marionnette (à gaine) = (hand/glove) puppet = pyped (llaw/maneg) = margodenn
– le pôle Nord = the North Pole = Pegwn/Pôl y Gogledd = penn-ahel an Norzh
– la rougeur / l’éruption (f) = rash = brech = ruzded / brec’h
– la boussole = compass (for navigation) = cwmpawd = nadoz-vor
– le compas = compass (for drawing circles) = cwmpas = kelc’hier, kompaz

Les mots de la semaine

– la côte = rib = asen = kostenn
– la cage thoracique = rib cage = cawell asennau = kest ar brusk
– le couple = rib (of boat) = asen = koubl
– la coque = hull = corff llong = korf ar vag
– l’armature (f) = frame(work), bone, underwiring = ffrâm, fframwaith = frammadur
– prouver, avérer = prove = profi = prou(v)iñ, donet
– le sous-bock, le rond à bière = beermat = mat cwrw
– le bock = beer glass, glass of beer = gwydr cwrw = bok
– dénonciateur, corbeau = whistle-blower = chwythwr chwiban = disklêrier
– ringard, old school = cheesy, naff = sathredig, ystrydebol, ffuantus = kaoc’h kazh
– le pied = leg (table, chair) = coes
– le dossier = back (chair) = cefn – kein
– le siège = seat (chair) = sêt = sez
– le réduction, la rabais = discount = disgownt = rabat, diskar

De cette semaine le mots de la semaine seront en français, anglais, gallois et breton.

From this week the words of the week will be in French, English, Welsh and Breton.

O’r wythnos ‘ma byddan eiriau yr wythnos yn Ffrangeg, Saesneg, Cymraeg a Llydaweg.

Yezhoù, kanaouennoù ha sonerezh

The Breton couchsurfers arrived yesterday, with an Austrian friend, and we’re having a great time. They’ve taught me a bit of Breton, we’ve also talked in French, English, Welsh, Irish and German – I love having opportunities to use my languages like this. I’ve learnt more about Brittany and Breton and have shown them round Bangor – they particularly like the older parts of the university.

Last night we did some silly singing at the crazy choir – a small group of us who get together every other week to improvise songs and harmonies and generally be silly. After that we went to a folk music session at a nearby pub. Tonight we’re going to a cèilidh, which will the first time they’ve been to one, though they do have something similar in Brittany – fest-noz.

Les mots de la semaine

– le moine / le religieux = monk = mynach
– le monastère = monastery = mynachlog
– la (bonne) sœur / la religieuse = nun = lleian
– le couvent = nunnery / convent = lleiandy / cwfaint
– se vanter = to boast = brolio / ymffrostio
– la vantardise = (a) boast = brol / ymffrost
– épais = thick = trwchus / tew
– mince / fin / maigre = thin = tenau / main / cul
– une brebis galeuse = black sheep (“mangy ewe”) = dafad ddu
– à chaque troupeau sa brebis galeuse = there’s a black sheep in every flock = y mae dafad ddu ym mhob praidd
– le champ des courses = racecourse = cae rhedeg
– s’éndormir = to fall asleep = syrthio / cwympo i gysgu
– endormi = asleep = yn cysgu / ynghwsg
– à moitié endormi = half asleep = yn hanner cysgu
– la roche = rock (substance) = craig
– le roc = rock (hard, solid) = craig (galed)
– le rocher = boulder / rock = clogfaen / craig

Les mots de la semaine

– filtre = filter = ffilter, hidl
– chargeur (de piles) = (battery) charger = gwefrwr (batri)
– le public = audience (cinema, theatre) = cynulleidfa
– l’audience, les auditeurs = (radio) audience, listeners = gwrandawyr
– les téléspectateurs = (TV) audience = cynulleidfa (teledu)
– le spectateur = member of the audience, spectator, onlooker
– l’icône (f) = icon = eicon
– l’éditeur (m) = publisher (company) = cyhoeddwr
– la maison d’édition = publishing house = cwmni cyhoeddi
– le nombril = navel = botwm bol, bogail
– le nombrilisme = navel-gazing, omphaloskepsis = bogailsyllu
– il pense qu’il est le nombril du monde = he thinks the world revolves around him – (dw i ddim yn siŵr sut i ddweud hyn yn Gymraeg)

Free online language course to give away

I’ve been given free access to the online courses offered by Online Trainers to give them a try, and have one course to give away.

The languages available are English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Dutch.

If you’re interested, just drop me an email at feedback[at]omniglot[dot]com and I’ll send you an access code that gives you three months’ free access to a course of your choice.

[addendum] This course has now been claimed. If I’m given any other free courses, I’ll let you know.

Clwb Uke Bangor Uke Club

Bangor Uke Club (from left to right - Pete, Jane, Matt, Doug and Simon) preparing to play in the fireplace of the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris

Neithiwr yn y Vaynol Arms yn Nant Peris fel rhan o Ffair Nant, mi wnaeth y Clwb Uke Bangor perfformio yn gyhoeddus am y tro cyntaf. Mi wnaethon ni chwarae cymysgedd o ganeuon yn gynnwys Country Roads, House of the Rising Sun, Dark Moon Rising, Cockles & Mussels, Go West, I Wanna Be Like You, ayyb. Yn Go West mi waethon ni canu North Wales yn lle Go West, ac roedd y cynulleidfa yn hoffi hyn, ac fel encôr mi wnaethon ni canu Delilah unwaith eto. Ro’n ni’n argraffu y trefnyddion ac mi wnaethon nhw ein gwahodd ni dod yn ôl i’r ffair y flwyddyn nesaf.

Last night in the Vaynol Arms in Nant Peris as part of the Nant Fair, the Bangor Uke Club performed in public for the first time. We played a mixture of songs, including Country Roads, House of the Rising Sun, Dark Moon Rising, Cockles & Mussels, Go West, I Wanna Be Like You, and so on. In Go West we replaced Go West with North Wales, which went down well with the audience, and we sang Delilah again as an encore. The organisers were impressed and have invited us back for the fair next year.

Les mots de la semaine

– les boule Quiès = earplugs (to keep out noise) = plygia clust
– les protège-tympans = earplugs (to keep out water) = plygia clust
– le tympan = eardrum / tympanum = pilen y glust / drwm clust
– le bouffon / le fou du roi = jester = cellweiriwr
– le plaisantin / blageur = joker = cellweiriwr
– farceur = practical joker
– emballer / faire (la valise) = to pack = pacio
– deballer / défaire = to unpack = dadbacio
– l’avantage unique / l’argument clé de vente (ACV) = unique selling point (USP) = pwynt gwerthu unigryw