LE COIN FRANCOPHONE: MICHELLE’S MINI-SERIES EP. 17: VERDUN
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, the last episode, Verdun.
It is said that the British have Somme, and the French have Verdun.
Today, Verdun stands as an incredible reminder of the past conflicts of WWI while also paying tribute to those who gave their lives in such an unimaginable struggle for freedom.
It is a place full of emotion, but it isn’t all about the war.
There is a history waiting to be discovered brimming with culture and traditions, forests and valleys, monuments and museums.
Enjoy all Verdun has to offer and don’t be surprised if your final wish is to return.
Michelle R.
(January 2024)
Ep. 17: VERDUN
Pendant la Première Guerre mondiale, le nord-est de la France a été le site de nombreux champs de bataille où des soldats du monde entier ont combattu. Verdun a été le site de l’une des batailles les plus célèbres d’Europe. La bataille de Verdun a impliqué principalement les troupes françaises et américaines.
Vous n’avez pas besoin d’être un passionné de guerre pour profiter d’un voyage pour voir les monuments commémoratifs de la Première Guerre mondiale à Verdun. Les champs de bataille et les monuments commémoratifs rappellent l’ampleur de la perte.
Ces sites vous donneront un aperçu de l’histoire que vous ne trouverez nulle part dans le monde. Voici quelques sites à voir absolument.
1. Le Mémorial de Verdun
Si vous avez le temps de visiter un seul site de la Première Guerre mondiale à Verdun, ça doit être le Mémorial de Verdun.
Dès que vous entrez dans le mémorial, vous êtes pris au cœur des débuts de la Première Guerre mondiale. Le mémorial est incroyablement émouvant.
Quand vous êtes au sommet, vous pouvez voir des vues sur la campagne.
2. Le village de Fleury-devant-Douaumont
Pendant la bataille de Verdun, le village de Fleury-devant-Douaumont a été capturé et repris par les allemands et les français seize fois. Aujourd’hui, il n’existe plus.
C’est l’un des neuf villages qui a été complètement détruit pendant la bataille de Verdun. Il y a un chemin où se trouvait le village. Le long du chemin,
vous pouvez voir où la terre a été détruite par le bombardement. Il y a des marqueurs qui vous montrent où se trouvaient certains bâtiments – une boulangerie, une ferme, une école.
Le village n’a jamais été reconstruit.
Cependant, en 1930, une petite chapelle commémorative a été construite où se trouvait l’église. La chapelle a été nommée Notre-Dame d’Europe.
3. Le Fort de Douaumont
Le Fort de Douaumont était le fort le plus important qui protégeait la France de l’invasion allemande.
Ce fort et le petit fort de Vaux à proximité vous montreront la vie d’un soldat dans ces structures fortifiées.
4. L’Ossuaire de Douaumont
L’Ossuaire de Douaumont est un hommage aux soldats français qui ont combattu pendant la Première Guerre mondiale.
À l’intérieur du monument, vous trouverez les noms de tous ceux qui sont morts gravés dans les murs.
Par les fenêtres de l’ossuaire, vous trouverez des os. Ces os ont été récupérés après la guerre, mais jamais identifiés. L’énormité du complexe vous donnera une grande perspective sur le nombre de vies perdues.
5. Le Monument à la Victoire et aux Soldats de Verdun
Il est situé sur la place de la Libération. Il y a une sculpture d’un guerrier appuyé sur son épée au sommet de 73 marches.
Sous la sculpture se trouve une crypte. À l’intérieur de la crypte se trouve un registre avec les noms de ceux qui ont reçu la médaille de Verdun.
Il y a d’autres histoires à découvrir à Verdun loin des histoires de guerre. N’oubliez pas de visiter ces endroits aussi.
1. Les Dragées Braquier
La dragée a rendu Verdun célèbre.
En 1220, un apothicaire de Verdun a eu une idée. Il a pris des amandes et les a enrobées de sucre et de miel avant de les rendre dures.
Les bonbons sont rapidement devenus populaires.
Aujourd’hui, vous pouvez visiter l’usine de Verdun et les déguster vous-même.
2. La porte de Châtel
La porte de Châtel a été construite au 13ème siècle.
Cette porte est le seul morceau restant d’un ensemble de murs médiévaux qui entouraient la ville.
3. La gare de Verdun
La gare de Verdun n’a pas l’air spéciale. Cependant, elle l’est.
La gare a été construite en 1868 et conçue par Gustave Eiffel, l’architecte de la Tour Eiffel. Son rôle le plus important dans l’histoire a été le 10 novembre 1920.
La gare de Verdun a envoyé un train à Paris avec le soldat inconnu. Il est enterré sous l’Arc de Triomphe, où il reste à ce jour.
Tout ce que vous ferez et verrez à Verdun stimulera vos émotions. Quand il sera temps de partir, vous aurez un dernier souhait : revenir.
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: dragees-braquier.fr
