Happy Bastille Day!

[Moesha]

Here's a picture from when I was in France that they said was what remained of the Bastille.

[Sonia59]

Perhaps Mme Cassavante was living for many years in the US, and took the English expression I have really never heard of the "Bastille Day".

And here all this time I thought it was called Bastille Day there. and when I just Googled, or rather Goodsearched, "french flag pictures quatorze juillet", what do I read on one link but "... on the eve of the Quatorze juillet (vulgarly called Bastille Day by foreigners) ..." Well, ex-CU-U-U-U-SE ME!

No problem! Actually, I like it better than "quatorze juillet", as it refers to History

Anyway... Laissez les bons temps roulez! (or is that just for New Orleans?) .. well, whatever is appropriate!!!!!..

What does it mean??? I don't understand it and I have never heard of it it either, but I remember I've read it previously on PT, perhaps posted by you.

[Pinot's Mom]

Originally Posted by phesina
Anyway... Laissez les bons temps roulez! (or is that just for New Orleans?) .. well, whatever is appropriate!!!!!..
What does it mean??? I don't understand it and I have never heard of it it either, but I remember I've read it previously on PT, perhaps posted by you.

Laissez le bons temps roulez is the theme of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter in New Orleans....

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!!

It was also the theme of the Catmobile trip to New Orleans!

[Sonia59]

Laissez le bons temps roulez is the theme of Bourbon Street and the French Quarter in New Orleans....

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!!

It was also the theme of the Catmobile trip to New Orleans!

I really learn a lot with this thread I did some search on a language forum I belong to, and I found it is a specific Cajun expression. And indeed, it's not correct at all in French. Some French translations would be "Que la fête commence!", "Eclatons-nous", or the closest "prenons du bon temps".

This thread is getting funny, I like it (that's PT!)

[phesina]

____________
Originally Posted by phesina
Anyway... Laissez les bons temps roulez! (or is that just for New Orleans?) .. well, whatever is appropriate!!!!!..
--------------------

What does it mean??? I don't understand it and I have never heard of it it either, but I remember I've read it previously on PT, perhaps posted by you.

Oh, how funny! Some "French" that French people don't know!

"Laissez les bons temps roulez" ("rouler"?) is the slogan of New Orleans, particularly the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. It is supposedly Cajun French (is that a lot different from French French?) and means "Let the good times roll!"

[Karen]

Sonia, I knew as a child that "school French" was different than "home French" - what my French-Canadian grandmother's family spoke, and Dad also told me N'Orleans French was even more different than "school" (or Parisian) French!

My French Canadian relatives never spelled anything out for me, as Grandma didn't want me to learn anything but English, so I'd never be looked down on as she had been as the child of immigrants.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Memorial Day was once known as Decoration Day here in the U.S. It would be hard to find anyone - under age 70 anyway - who would even know what Decoration Day is.

I suspect it is the same with Bastille Day?

[Sonia59]

Memorial Day was once known as Decoration Day here in the U.S. It would be hard to find anyone - under age 70 anyway - who would even know what Decoration Day is.

I suspect it is the same with Bastille Day?

You must be right. I'm not old enough to know about it

Karen and Phesina, yes there are different French. I don't really know how different the French Cajun is, but from what I have heard on TV programs about Cajuns, it's VERY HARD to understand. Most of the time there are subtitles. I imagine this is more similar to old French, but still more different from Canadian French, which is understandable depending on the strength of the accent.
But we don't have to go so far. Belgian French and Swiss French are also a bit different from French French. There are grammar differences (not that many though) and some Belgian/Swiss expressions are incorrect in French and the other way around.

[Sonia59]

Here's a picture from when I was in France that they said was what remained of the Bastille.

It's correct. This is a miniature copy of the original castle, which was used as a prison when it was attacked on the 14th July 1789:


After the attack, it was completely dismantled and the stones were used to build other structures, such as the bridge "le pont de la concorde". This is why there is almost nothing left.


A detail for people interested in History: I always thought the 14th of July was celebrating the Bastille's attack, symbol of the French revolution. This is what I remember having learned at school. Actually Wikipedia says the 14th of July is celebrating the "fête de la fédération", which corresponds to the first anniversary of the Bastille's attack. So yesterday we did commemorate the 14th July 1790 and not the 14th July 1789!

I'm curious to know what my girl will learn at school in a few years!

[Killearn Kitties]

Oh well you learn something new everyday! I was always thought that the event commemorated the storming of the Bastille, not the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille.

That really is splitting hairs.