French | Mama Lisa's World Blog

Roger Greiner wrote asking for help with a French Belgian children’s song. Here’s his email: “I write to you in the hope of finding out if you know of a children’s song that my grandmother (born, Milene, Belgium) use to sing to me and my cousins as little children. Please bear with me as I […] The post Can Anyone Help with this Belgian French Song? first appeared on Mama Li...

Father’s Day was started in France in 1950 by the Flaminaire lighter company.  They were inspired by the American Father’s Day holiday which already existed. Flaminaire did it as a marketing ploy to help launch their new gas lighter. The campaign slogan was, “Nos papas nous l’ont dit: pour la fête des pères, ils désirent tous un Flaminaire” […] The post About Fa...

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794) was a French poet and romance writer. Nowadays, he’s chiefly known for his pretty fables for children. We present to you a recording of Florian’s fable called “Le perroquet” (The Parrot), along with the original French text and an English translation… MP3 Recording of Le perroquet by Florian Le perroquet […] The post Le...

Here’s a French poem called “Bonne Année” (Happy New Year) by Tristan Derème (1889-1941). Below you’ll find an mp3 recording of the poem with the original French text and an English translation. MP3 Recording of Bonne année Bonne année Par Tristan Derème Voici la nouvelle année Souriante, enrubannée, Qui pour notre destinée, Par le ciel nous […] The post Bonne Année (...

  Did you know there’s a spoof version of Frère Jacques in France? It’s a good song for when you’re trying to teach (or learn) the names of fruits and vegetables in French. It’s also helpful for pronunciation. Below are the lyrics with an English translation and an MP3 recording. I tried to keep the translation playful. […] The post Spoof Version of Frère Jacques...

Certain sounds are difficult to pronounce in French. The vowel combination "ui" can be a tricky one for English speakers. To pronounce "ui", you should pucker your mouth like you’re going to say "u" but quickly say "we" instead. Monique from France has recorded some words with the "ui" combination for us. You can listen […] The post How to Pronou...