Merde Encore!: More of the Real French You Were Never Taught at School [Paperback]

Genevieve (Author), Michael Heath (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 9, 1998

Sacre Bleu!!!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the café...

For those of you who delighted in Geneviève's deliciously naughty first book, Merde!, and for those unfortunate few who have not yet had the pleasure...Geneviève is back with Merde Encore!

Here the inimitable Geneviève makes further fabulous forays into French argot and comes up with an enormous range of colorful idioms, essential for anyone who wants to speak the language as it really is spoken. As an additional treat, she also gives instructions in the correct use of impassioned Gallic gestures -- those silent but expressive signals so beloved of the French motorist and shopkeeper. And, most important, she reveals how the French language, both spoken and visual, is a key to the spirit and character of the people who use it. With infectious humor, she exposes the idiosyncratic attitudes that have produced so great a wealth of vivid expressions.

So now discover how the French really feel about sex, food, la belle France, foreigners, hygiene, death...Merde Encore! may confirm what you've always suspected.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Geneviève lives in Switzerland.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (December 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684854287
• ISBN-13: 978-0684854281
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Slang & Idioms
  • #62 in Books > Education & Reference > Etiquette > Conversation

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quelle Joie!, August 18, 2000

By 

Renaaah "Renaaah" (Bronxville, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merde Encore!: More of the Real French You Were Never Taught at School (Paperback)

Ooh-la-la. This is a delightful gift for the friend who has a decent elementary grasp on the French language and a rolicking sense of humour. Written with great lingusitic dexterity, both in French aan in English, it will be treasured for years to come.

Excerpt: <<So you think that suffixes are just another boring little grammatical item? Not in French, where some are invested with great power. The French, with their superiority complex, make much use of suffixes to express contempt and belittlement. Here are the basic ones, with a few examples of each... (EXAMPLES FOLLOW)>>

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Outsider's "Look" into the French Psyche?, December 23, 2000

By 

Laure-Madeleine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merde Encore!: More of the Real French You Were Never Taught at School (Paperback)

In "Merde Encore!," author Geneviève recommends that one should have looked over her previous book, "Merde!," because she "shall at times . . . assume knowledge acquired in the first." Thus, she says, "What I offer here is further exploration of colloquial vocabulary and idioms and, through them, deeper insights into the French psyche." So, while the layout of "Merde Encore!" is similar to "Merde!," there is a difference in tone between the two books. "Merde!" presents a colloquial and idiomatic French glossary, and "Merde Encore!" attempts to offer an outsider's view on the French psyche (in particular, on the Frenchman's psyche) in a rather sarcastic commentary interspersed with additional vocabulary. Here, Geneviève extends her thesis from "Merde!" (see the chapter on "Xenophobia and Racism") on the "innate French feeling of superiority" by indulging in lots of name-calling and stereotyping. In the interests of free speech, a glossary, dictionary, or phrasebook may offer "politically incorrect" terminology and usage. However, it is up to the reader to decide if a line has been crossed when an author chooses to perpetuate xenophobic stereotypes by using the words "Frog," "Froggie," and "Frog Pathology," and by offering undocumented commentary on the hygiene of the French, for example. Sometimes it is difficult to determine what is humour and what is not. (The foregoing remarks are offered by this reviewer as a disclaimer.)

"Merde Encore!" has thirteen short chapters: "Verbs" (i.e., the "moi-je" syndrome); "Suffixes" ("instruments of belittlement and contempt"); "Les Beaux Gestes" (with cartoons of French gestures, illustrated by Michael Heath); "Guillotined French" ("shortened" French words, like "cap" for "capable"); "Counting in French" (including "The Frog Clock"); "Sound Effects"; "The Most Popular Ingredients of French Idioms" (food and animals); "Anatomy of a Frog"; "Appee Beurzdé Tooh Yooh" ("Franglais"); "Allons Enfants" ("kiddie talk"); "The Cocorico Syndrome" (i.e., "Frogs on Wheels"); "Geography à la Française" (i.e., "the Parisians and the rest"); and "Your PH.D. Exam."

This book has quite a bit of useful idiomatic vocabulary and phrasing; it is also quite humourous. As to an insight into the French psyche or national character, I think not. For a more perceptive, witty, and insightful read on an outsider's view of the (Parisian) French, I highly recommend "French Toast," by Harriet Welty Rochefort. The irony of Geneviève's books (particularly the second one) is that they would be most appealing to an age group who should not be reading them!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars (Expletive deleted) formidable!, May 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Merde Encore!: More of the Real French You Were Never Taught at School (Paperback)

This book assumes you have at least a full year of French behind you. It is not for beginners, even given the fact that most learners of a second language usually go for the "cinq lettres" words first. It was absolutely a must read for me when I visited Paris, and a bit of a help when I eventually visited Quebec. Lots of cultural nuances about the French (even body language is discussed), funny illustrations, and plenty of good intentioned advice... if a bit R-rated.