LE COIN FRANCOPHONE: MICHELLE’S MINI-SERIES EP. 12: NORMANDIE
If you want to learn how to read, write and converse well in French, writing about a subject you want to learn more about is a triple threat.
Michelle took on a big challenge of writing about the places she’d like to travel to in France, In one year, she finished a 17-article mini-series for our blog, which we’re thrilled to share with you.
I’ll let her words tell you the story of the evolution of her writing in French – an inspiration for your own progress – and the story of her bucket list that will give you food for thought. Today, Normandie.
Normandy is a magical place with something for everyone!
For those who love history, the battle sites of WWII will entice you.
For the lovers of impressionism, visit the places that inspired masterpieces known all over the world today.
For those of us who love beauty and food, don’t miss the fairytale structures and delicious Camembert cheese.
It’ll be a trip you’ll never want to end.
Michelle R.
(October 2023)
Ep. 12: NORMANDIE
La Normandie est située le long de la Manche entre la Bretagne et la pointe nordique de la France. Les villes balnéaires colorées, les villes anciennes et les beaux villages en font l’une des destinations les plus fascinantes de France.
Le mouvement impressionniste est né en Normandie. Il a été inspiré par l’impression de Money du lever du soleil au Havre. En outre, la Normandie a été le site de l’une des batailles les plus importantes de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale. Il y a des monuments, des musées, des bunkers et des plages le long de la côte.
Avec tant de choses à voir et à faire, voici quelques raisons pour découvrir vous-même la Normandie.
Le fromage doux, crémeux et délicieux
Il y a de nombreuses régions de France connues pour leur fromage. Cependant, l’abondance des terres agricoles et des vaches font du fromage de Normandie l’un des meilleures. Il y a quatre principaux types de fromages : le Pont l’Evêque, le Livarot, le Neufchâtel et le plus célèbre Camembert.
Ceux qui aiment le Camembert peuvent suivre la Route du Camembert. Le long de la route, vous pourrez visiter le village de Camembert, apprendre comment le fromage est produit, déguster le fromage et visiter le musée.
Les habitants chaleureux
Certains français sont considérés comme inamicaux, mais en Normandie, ce n’est pas vrai. La région attire des touristes du monde entier et les accueille tous.
Les villages de conte de fées
Il y a des villes portuaires et de vieux hameaux partout. Les villages de Normandie combinent des structures pittoresques avec la beauté naturelle environnante. Vous voudrez capturer la scène sur votre appareil photo.
Lieux à voir en Normandie : le village de Beuvron-en-Auge, la ville de Bayeux et la ville de Honfleur. Le village de Beuvron-en-Auge est l’un des plus beaux villages de France avec des bâtiments à colombages entourant la petite place.
L’Aure coule dans le centre historique de Bayeux. La ville balnéaire de Honfleur possède un vieux port pittoresque. Ce sont des sites à voir.
La terre qui a inspiré les impressionnistes
De nombreux artistes impressionnistes sont venus en Normandie pour trouver l’inspiration. Les paysages luxuriants et la sérénité de la campagne était l’endroit idéal pour peindre en paix.
Vous pouvez visiter des sites de peintures célèbres dans toute la Normandie. Par exemple, Claude Monet peint les falaises d’Étretat, la cathédrale de Rouen et les nymphéas de Giverny.
Les vergers de pommiers et leurs boissons
Le reste de la France se concentre sur le vin, mais la boisson normande de choix est le brandy de pomme ou « Calvados ». Le Calvados est produit par fermentation de pommes locales en cidre sec.
Ensuite, le cidre est distillé et vieilli dans des fûts de chêne pendant au moins deux ans. Si vous aimez le cidre, vous pouvez suivre la route de cidre à travers le pays d’Auge.
L’histoire incroyable
De la bataille d’Hastings aux événements horribles du jour J et la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, la Normandie a connu des effusions de sang et des batailles. Les normands ont commémoré leur histoire de plusieurs façons.
À Bayeux, les visiteurs peuvent retracer la bataille d’Hastings avec la tapisserie de Bayeux. La tapisserie est une œuvre d’art de 68 mètres de long. Elle représente les événements jusqu’à la conquête normande. Il y a aussi des cimetières et des monuments qui honorent les batailles et les soldats tombés au combat. C’est une expérience émotionnelle.
Le Mont Saint-Michel
Le Mont Saint-Michel est une commune située au début de la rivière Couesnon. La rivière Couesnon se jette dans la Manche. Une abbaye de style gothique du XIXème siècle se trouve au sommet du mont.
Les chants des moines et des nonnes résidents peuvent être entendus pendant la messe. C’est une expérience surréaliste. Le Mont Saint-Michel est l’un des sites les plus visités de France, mais moins de 50 personnes résident sur l’île
Il y a tant à faire et à voir en Normandie. Vous devrez peut-être prolonger votre voyage !
France: My Written Journey
In January 2023, Llyane encouraged me to develop my French writing skills.
At the time, this seemed like an impossible request. You see, I have a hard time coming up with ideas to write or talk about in English. Figuring out what to write about AND THEN translate that into French made my head spin. However, I am not one to back down from a challenge. So, I embarked on a journey that has elicited emotions such as dread, fear, and frustration but has ultimately resulted in joy, satisfaction, and pride.
Here is my journey.
After many days of contemplation, I decided to write about the different places in France that I may someday like to visit. This seemed accessible to me and would also be beneficial later.
Llyane and I decided on a schedule that included submitting an article every three weeks. I won’t lie. I had no idea how I was going to do this. At the end, there are a total of eighteen articles, and my process has evolved over the course.
The first article – the introduction to the series – was one of the hardest. I had no idea how much research I needed to do, how to translate my written English into written French, or how many pages was adequate.
So, I closed my eyes and jumped in with both feet.
The Research
Initially, I began research for my articles the week before I submitted them to Llyane. However, I quickly realized that I needed to begin research as soon as the last one was finished which gave me three weeks from start to finish.
Since my research would determine where I wanted to visit, some articles took longer than others to research as it was easy to go down various rabbit holes!
Once I settled into a loose format for the articles, it was easier to keep the research on point.
The first few articles were three handwritten pages double spaced. By the end, the articles were six handwritten pages double spaced. I’m grateful Llyane learned to read my handwriting!
Translating the Research
When I first finished the research, I didn’t know what to do with it. So, I began each article by writing it in English. This was the easy part as I was able to use the full extent of my native language.
The hard part came next – translating into French.
The objective of this writing expedition was to learn the French language. I eventually developed my own method. I would take each English sentence that I had written from my research and simplify it into a sentence that I knew that I could construct in French. This meant one sentence became two a lot of times.
Llyane always encourages me to pretend like I was talking to my son when he was four or five. This reminder helped me simplify the sentences without feeling like I was losing the context and feel that I wanted. Once I had settled on a simplified sentence, I would write it in French.
This process included looking up words that I didn’t know or colloquial phrases in Reverso. My final step was to use Reverso in reverse. I’d type in the French sentence I had written to see how it was translated into English. This would allow me to understand where my mistakes were and to make tweaks, if needed.
The Final Product
After translating the article into French, I’d put it away for a while. A few days before I submitted the article to Llyane, I’d look over it one last time to check word agreement – subject-verb and adjective.
I would also read over it out loud to myself right before my next session with Llyane. When Llyane and I would meet, I would read the article to her, and she would provide pronunciation correction and suggestions for better ways to word some of the sentences so that they portrayed what I was trying to get across.
The final step was providing Llyane with a brief introduction in English and a typed version of the article in French.
I hope you enjoy the articles on the amazing country of France. They are truly a labor of love.
Michelle R.
(January 2024)
NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!
Tell us in the comments below what is YOUR list of places to discover in France?
Let me guess.
Do you constantly have the feeling that you can’t hear what the French say and you don’t know how to read all the French words because they are written so much differently than they sound?
Learn 3 secrets that will help you be self sufficient in the way you pronounce French words – even if you don’t know what they mean – so that you can read that sophisticated menu in your favorite French restaurant.
Immerse yourself as you FINALLY reach your dream of becoming bilingual, learn to speak Parisian French on Skype and BREAK your language barrier!
…and now, please SHARE this article with your friends. They’ll love you for it! : )
Always in your corner,
Llyane
Photo credit: ouest-france.fr
