Lost in Translation--US vs UK English words

[macwilkin]

QUOTE=starbkjrus;837450Please tell me that a CANADIAN didn't just use the actual term Freedom Fries! Honestly, that one should never have been and anyone that wishes to use it should PM me and I will tell them post-haste and at length why that one was never appropriate.

REPLY: We in Canada have a complicated relationship with The Land Of France. I know that those of Quebec heritage have to put up with the sort of distain from the Euro French that, say, Austrailians or Kiwis have to endure from their home country of the UK- but done in the way that only the Euro French can do it.

Anglo Canadians, on the other hand, remember that French President Charles 'Of-All-DeGaulle' once came here and made a televised speech calling for Quebec to leave Canada. This in a country that had just fought for 7 years to free France from the consequences of their surrender tendencies!

And me, I have too much Scots-Irish in me to either forget about the above or to not get a verbal dig in, however obscure.

In short, I as a Canadian say "Let 'Freedom Fries' ring!"

As a Cajun "by the ring and by the back door", I would remind you sir that not all Francophone Canadians are associated with Quebec. My wife's ancestors, the Melansons (spelled Melancon in Louisiana) were Acadians who were forced from their farms in Nova Scotia during Le Grand Derangement in 1755 and made their way to Louisiana, where they became "Cajuns".

Back in 2003, I heard people using the term "freedom fries" and saying things that upset my wife, who is very proud of her French heritage. Needless to say, they soon thought better of it when I mentioned "The Auld Alliance" between the Scots & the French.

I'll try not to go political here, but the whole "freedom fries" thing was as silly as the "liberty cabbage" (sauerkraut) of the First World War.

And before you make comments about the "surrender tendencies" of the French, perhaps you would do well to remember the The Royal 22e Régiment of the Canadian Army, and its three Victoria Cross recipients in the World Wars.

Todd

[Lallans]

As a Cajun "by the ring and by the back door", I would remind you sir that not all Francophone Canadians are associated with Quebec. My wife's ancestors, the Melansons (spelled Melancon in Louisiana) were Acadians who were forced from their farms in Nova Scotia during Le Grand Derangement in 1755 and made their way to Louisiana, where they became "Cajuns".

Back in 2003, I heard people using the term "freedom fries" and saying things that upset my wife, who is very proud of her French heritage. Needless to say, they soon thought better of it when I mentioned "The Auld Alliance" between the Scots & the French.

I'll try not to go political here, but the whole "freedom fries" thing was as silly as the "liberty cabbage" (sauerkraut) of the First World War.

And before you make comments about the "surrender tendencies" of the French, perhaps you would do well to remember the The Royal 22e Régiment of the Canadian Army, and its three Victoria Cross recipients in the World Wars.

Todd

Hey Todd,

OK but I think you are confusing the French in France with the Quebecois and Acadians, both of which groups were essentially abandoned by France and have lived separate and apart from them for the past 400 years or so. Peace be upon them and you- there is no more connection between Acadia or Quebec and France than there is between the original England and those who now live in New England.

And hey you know I was bloggating basically in a spirit of fun. Have a Happy New Year! Puis une bonne annee pour la nation de la France!

[macwilkin]

Hey Todd,

OK but I think you are confusing the French in France with the Quebecois and Acadians, both of which were essentially abandoned by France and have lived separate and apart from them for the past 400 years or so. Peace be upon them and you- there is no more connection between Acadia or Quebec and France than there is between the original England and those who now live in New England.

And hey you know I was bloggating basically in a spirit of fun. Have a Happy New Year!

I'm no sure I totally agree with you regarding your statements that there are no connections at all between France and the Francophones of Canada and Louisiana. Geo-politically, yes (excepting Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the last territory of "New France"), but culturally, there are still some ties -- I'll be glad to point you to some sources, especially here in the Pays des Illinois, or Upper Louisiana. I don't you can dismiss such cultural connections so easily.

You may have meant things in the spirit of fun, but you didn't hear the nasty things people said to my wife that were not made in jest. She is proud of her French heritage from Poitou, Acadia and Louisiana, and well she should be, just as I am of my ancestry. Honestly, you made no attempt to say you meant your comments in jest. I'll certainly admit to being thin-skinned about it, and I apologise if you truly did mean it to be funny.

T.