Expressions 04

[nicolas]

j'adore les expression c'est très utile!
quand fera tu la prochaine?

[patard]

Every week you can find a lot of expression at
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/witn/pdfs/witn_plan_080305_flying_foxes.pdf

There is an expression "langue de bois". I can't find the translation in english.
We use this expression when someone , frequently a politician, tell something that is not really a lie , but not really true. For instance three years ago or so Bush made a speech on a flat top and said : the war in Irak is finished.
In that  case it was very near of a lie but in french we say its " de la langue de bois"
Is there something like that in English?

[nicolas]

ya pas les traductions

[Thomas]

@nicolas

For the moment, I'm following the pattern of

Regular lesson
Expressions lesson
Intermediate lesson
Advanced lesson

So tomorrow will be Advanced Lesson 008, the 16th of March will have Lesson 029, and then the 23rd will have Expressions 05

@patard

I did a lot of research on "langue de bois", and I have two ideas for translating it. With the Bush example, you would call that "doublespeak", or if you want, "political doublespeak". And with the email you sent me (thank you for that, it was funny), I would say the speaker is "full of hot air".

[patard]

In french we have too "double langage" and " ça brasse de l'air". But these expressions are certainly a  bit more old than "langue de bois"

[Thomas]

That's funny, I wonder if those were originally Latin expressions that came into both French and English...I think it's interesting to see which old expressions stay around in some languages but disappear in others!

[nicolas]

c'est long le 23 mars!!!

[patard]

Since you live in Montpellier , you can go to a librabry. You can borrow a method of english :  Méthode 90 , l'anglais en 90 leçons et en 90 jours . Editor: le livre de poche. You will find a lot of expressions and there translation.
For instance:
It's none of your business
ça ne vous regarde pas
or
Two's a  company, three's a crowd
A partir de trois c'est la foule
and a lot of others.
there is also a good expression in french
Aides toi , le ciel t'aideras
But I can't find the translation in english. If you find it , please put it in the forum , you'll be very kind.

[patard]

Hello
I phoned just a while with a girl whose job is translation. She told me that she remenbered having problems a few years ago to translate "langue de bois" ,and talked with several coworkers . At the end they found an english expression "MT rhetoric". But it is an english expression, not an american expression.
I spoke with her of Nicolas who needed expressions with there translations.
She told me it was sometimes difficult to find the exact translation for an expression.
For instance  they had a lot of problem to translate "casse toi , pauvre con" in an acurate manner. They had to find something a little more than casual , but it was difficult not to go to far since it was the president of France. And one's can find variant translations of this expression according the translation we read
So Nicolas, she thought that the best way to learn english or american expressions is to learn these expressions in context, to learn the phrase , or the sentense in which   the expression is.

[patard]

of course not MT rhétoric , but "empty rhetoric"

[patard]

An other proposition for "langue de bois"..."political cant"

[nicolas]

okay! thank you for your messages

[Opeth]

Hello!

I find these expressions very interesting, particularly "break a leg"  and "hands down"; because there are useful.

Thanks a lot Thomas

[Thomas]

No problem Everybody seems to like the expressions lessons, I'm really glad I started them!

[patard]

a sentence with an expression learnt in your podcast
There is no point trying to deny it. You were caught red-hand.
A word I found for the first time in this forum: cuddly
http://www.wordreference.com/enfr/cuddly?v=gtb.
(pets Opeth)
One hour  later I found it again in the New york Times sélection for " le  monde".
The MOI beginner mobile phone is not as cuddly as a teddy bear.