Some amusing words in French language...humor

 

I thought of sharing some observations which I found amusing and somewhat humorous related to the French language, especially certain words. Undoubtedly, there are some stand-up comedy clips on foreign accents (such as Russian/ German/ French) and or British comical clips on play with words or their sounds which can be found. I was particularly amused by few sounds of certain words.

I think that the French always like to think one step ahead, for example, when you hear the sound of the specific word, you can know that sound signals what would come next, so essentially, the sound is almost like in a  different time zone ahead (like the US and India, where India is ahead by almost half a day)..

See the list of following French words in particular. I have listed the English meaning (in parenthesis) and then explained that when spoken, they sound like some Hindi words that actually mean something or an event ahead of time....

1. Je (I): So what the French actually meant when they say "Je", which sounds like alphabet J which is literally the NEXT alphabet after "I".

2. hier (yesterday): What they mean yesterday, is in fact now (like here and now) as hier sounds like here.

3. bougie (candle): The pronunciation of bougie literally sounds like "बुझी" in Hindi, which in Hindi means "extinguished", which is we all know what comes after candle is burned, as after that its extinguished...

4. chanter (sing): The word chanter when spoken, sounds like the Hindi word "शांति" which is what comes after one is singing, as music can bring peace or it could happen after the person has sung as then there is peace or silence after song ends..:)

5. mange (eat): The sound of "mange" is similar to the Hindi word "माँझे" which means to clean, as we say in Hindi "बर्तन माँझे" which translates to utensil is being cleaned. It's funny how the action which should be after one eats (cleaning dishes), but the French make sure you are ahead of it..:)

6. blesser (hurt): This word sounds like English word "bless" which is what one needs AFTER one is hurt 

7. lâche (coward): this word sounds like Hindi word "लाश" which actually means a dead person/corpse. No wonder one who is coward is considered dead anyways (at least symbolically) as he cannot be alive to the beauty of the world or take a stand against injustice or fight so not better than dead... 

 8. guerrier (warrior): The word guerrier literally sounds like the Hindi word "गिरिये", which means commanding someone to fall down. which is what is the fate of any warrior as he will command the enemy to fall down or cause their fall down.

9. ennemie (enemy): This French word sounds like English words "In me", and we know that someone who is an enemy, eventually finds its way into the person's mind and psyche, meaning the enemy occupies the person's mind and interior and consumes him, and so "in me" is what would eventually happen for those who are enemies

10. Chemin (path): The sound of chemin is same as Hindi word "शमा", which actually means light or flame. And we know that the path is what leads one to light or we walk towards light.

11.  échec (failure): This word sounds like Urdu word "इश्क़".  So what the French mean as "failure" comes across as "ishq" when heard, and the one who has truly failed (failure) can then be the right candidate for ishq and be turned towards ishq (ishq-e-haqiqi here)..:)

12. naissance (birth): The sound of this word literally sounds like English word "nuisance" and for many (if not all), after birth, it's not easy as a newborn can become a nuisance for some parents (in terms of their care). Or for some with philosophical bent of mind, they know being born on Earth (mrityulok as per Vedic texts), one is going to not have it easy and be annoyed in life a lot)

  

    So, now it's apparent, why I earlier said that the French were ahead of their time and when they speak these words, you know the original word would mean a step back in time than its sound:)

        But in other aspects, I actually found some words, that are right on target, with perfectly aligned meaning, which is actually beautiful. Check these words:

cygne (swan): the word cygne sounds like Hindi word "सीने" which means chest, or can also refer to heart, which fits perfect as the swan is the symbol of true love of the heart.

prière (prayer): this word has sound of Hindi word "प्रिय" which makes sense as prayer is considered a pure thing and its Hindi sound means "beloved", perhaps referring to prayer to God.

doigts (fingers), mains (hands)" Doigts and mains have the sound of Hindi words "दुआ" and "माँ", respectively. Interestingly, we know the dua made by a mother using the fingers on the hand (and the hand), so the sounds are so perfectly matched :)

père (father): the word's pronunciation is same as Hindi word "पर", which means "not mine", or another's.   mère (mother): The sound of this French word actually sounds like Hindi word "मेरे" which means mine/close. Moreover, this is one of the words whose sound is similar to another French word (mer) which means "sea" after translating. So, the French seem to be very connected to their mother figures, as indeed a mother's love is vast like the sea, and it is common for some children to feel closeness to the mother (hence the meaning of मेरे) and not the father :).

 I smiled at this interesting play of words and sounds and meanings....

A tribute to Robin Williams

Almost sixteen years ago, my earliest memories of actor Robin Williams date back to my sixth grade, perhaps in school, when I watched the movie "Jumanji". Juvenile as I was, little did I decipher the deeper meaning behind that fantasy movie where Robin could go into a fantasy world full of strange animals and unrealistic places, just by rolling some dice on a magical board, which could take him to a different time altogether. This movie showed his finesse in being able to make one laugh and forget the world and go into an imaginative, adventure-filled world and enjoy life like a child.

Almost a year ago, I watched his movie "Dead Poets' Society " which demonstrated his depth in being able to inspire with the gravity of a philosopher and poet, fighting to instill that spirit in juvenile students who were waiting for that "captain" to direct their sinking ship. And I, a student of poetry and philosophy, apart from other things, could connect with his finesse once again. Watch the scene at the link below:

My favorite scene from Dead Poets Society

And today, as I read about his sad demise, the poet and the child in me are both sad, but they speak to me something else too. Perhaps, for a soul like Robin, the child in him wanted to try something new and adventurous and in that attempt, transported himself to another world, away from the travails and troublesome realities of this world by the roll of dice, though the dice was rolled by destiny this time. To put in the worlds of Shakespeare, the philosopher in him realized that " Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"

In the words of Walt Whitman, He did indeed "sound his barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world".
I can hear it now, can you?


May his soul fly to uncharted galaxies in the other world and continue to shine beacon of humor and inspiration...

irony of the incident

The following post should have been written long time ago, as I was in Cincinnati at that time studying materials engineering, anyways, read the following incident, which is pre-dated (found in my old notes)

A strange and funny thing happened the other day. I was at the Indian grocery store, which is a few blocks from my apartment. As the Indian lady was billing my items she asked me what I did at school and my stream. I told her that I was in Materials Engineering with a bit of biological focus. Then she began to mention about some brother of hers, who had worked in electronic materials and helped in making and improving pacemakers for the heart.

As I was signing my bill after she had swiped the credit card, she blurted out with a smirk," Oh, but now he is working in a company which make military weapons."

The stark irony of the situation made me chuckle but I was thinking to myself about this a lot.
Strangely, a guy who helped restore hearts sometime ago, later began injuring them with the weapons he built! What a downfall or an achievement should I say?

I was reminded of the story of the Last supper,  somehow, in which the artist was looking for a model to paint Judas, and coincidentally, found the same old guy whom he had painted as Jesus years ago!

Anyways, I think the ways of the world are strange!

The humor of the sculpture

My flatmate Xin and I went to the Mill Pond and the Avalon Park which is near the Stony Brook Beach as they call it. Her friend and another guyfriend were there too, total four of us for the trip on a beautiful summer afternoon.
I would like to share something very humorous which came up when we saw the sculpture in the garden.
Look at the sculpture photo ( the one I had clicked was a side shot and would not do justice to what I am about to talk so I am sharing a picture from internet)

As I was gaping in awe at the sculpture, one of our friends remarked, " Look, he lost his ass!"

I totally burst out in uncontrollable laughter at his humorous comment which was true too and rebuked, " Look, yeah, but he also lost his brains".

Clearly, as an afterthought, its not difficult to predict that the first observation was made by a guy (the guy in our group) and the second one by a girl (myself). :)

I hope you understood the deep humor :)