Jean Dervin's Discussions

Use of "tu"

Started this discussion. Last reply by Jean Dervin Feb 16, 2016. 10 Replies 0 Likes

When I was a young lad, I had no difficulty in knowing whom to address as "tu": relatives and friends of my own age. As I grew up, it got more difficult, especially as I was spending most of my…Continue

Linguistic inhibition

Started this discussion. Last reply by Billy Bosworth Nov 12, 2015. 6 Replies 0 Likes

I have recently met a woman whose mother is German but who refuses to speak German to her because she is afraid of being corrected. My father (nominally French but brought up in England) was very…Continue

Pluralising Noun + Noun compound ["date butoir"]

Started this discussion. Last reply by Jean Dervin May 12, 2015. 9 Replies 0 Likes

"Date butoir": hyphen or no hyphen? And is the plural "dates butoirs" to be preferred to "dates butoir"? A correspondent (French) has just emailed me mentioning "de dates-butoir assez serrées".Continue

Futur or avenir?

Started this discussion. Last reply by Grégory May 5, 2015. 2 Replies 0 Likes

I was just about to write "le futur de l'atelier" (concerning a workshop which is likely to be closed) when I had a moment's hesitation and wondered whether I should write "l'avenir". (I paraphrased…Continue