When Good English Goes Bad: A French Art

Anyone who has learned a foreign language knows that efficient acquisition demands more than the ability to translate words. Languages are made up of several components that require innate knowledge and understanding of a country, its culture, its people, and current language trends. Words eventually mature into idiomatic phrases which require an understanding of the culture enough to make an educated inference of the deeper meaning. Even though a country’s vernacular may not follow logical grammar, it still manages to express deeper parts of a country and its culture than any properly formed sentence could.

Despite the difficulty associated with learning colloquial expressions, people around the world insist on treating these expressions as equally attainable components to a language. Every culture is guilty of misusing other languages to a degree, but English holds the superlative for the most used and misused language in modern day. The sheer popularity and infiltration of the English language across the globe, coupled with it being associated with high entertainment and innovative value, are the reasons behind the widespread misusage. People around the world are required to learn English from young ages, so it’s no wonder that many students assume that after years of memorizing vocabulary lists and watching foreign films, they know all that there is to know by the time they enter the workforce.

In their effort to be more capitalistic and trendy, the French have produced their share of droll advertisements and phrases known throughout France as ‘’correct English.’’ The French do not challenge the advertising authorities and consequently go about using the phrases incorrectly. They remain none the wiser until they either travel abroad or encounter a native English speaker, but even then they’ll argue that they’re correct. These misusages are often funny to those who understand the ambiguity between the two languages, but can easily be considered offensive to those unwilling to acknowledge the intended meanings. Here is a short list of some of the inappropriately humorous ways that the French have attempted to incorporate the English language.

Working girl

This is a prime example of how two perfectly well-meaning words have been euphemized. The original definition of a working girl simply means a woman who makes a living outside of the house, or more specifically a woman who does not stay at home with the primary focus of raising children and playing maid to her partner. However, over the years the term has become associated with prostitutes, since they have made it clear that they prefer to be referred to as ‘’working girls’ rather than ‘’sex workers.’’ Apparently, the French missed that memo. So imagine my surprise upon receiving an email from a French fashion blog with this subject line, ‘’Faits resortir la working girl qui est en vous!’’ or ‘’express the working girl within you!’’ I have to admit I was afraid to open that particular email. Once I ventured to open it, however, my suspicions were proven to be unfounded – they just meant, ‘’express your inner career woman.’’ I feel sorry for the foreigner who encounters the trendy French local who inadvertently offends her by saying, ‘’you look like a real working girl today.’’

Yes, I meant to write that, but neither as inappropriate advice nor as a PG rated insult. I’m not sure the same can be said for the French shoe chain, Eram, however, who released a new marketing campaign with this slogan in English, ‘’Play with Fashion. Play with yourself.’’ The campaign consisted of an assortment of advertisements featuring models dressing life-size mannequins of themselves. The French reactions to the advertisement indicated that either they collectively do not understand enough English to care about the meaning, or only understand enough to accept the abstract meaning depicted by the photo.

Much like the French usage of working girl, fashion victim can easily be misconstrued as an insult. Even though ‘’victim’’ is a cognate, the French usage of it sometimes differs from the English meaning. So, naturally, the French assumed that the English word was used in the same way. ‘’Fashion victim’’ in English is meant as a shallow insult indicating that someone has a horrible lack of fashion sense. In French, this is actually a compliment, meaning that someone dresses so well that she or he is a victim, or puppet, to the vanity of the fashion world.

The French Alliance is the most respected French language institute in Paris. Foreign immigrants and tourists alike attend this renowned establishment in order to learn French. I was a student for a required three months to fulfill my French visa prerequisites. Despite my personal opinions of this so-called place of learning, many consider this the crème de la crème of learning French. Many of their students are either native English speakers, or understand more English than French, which is why they write many of their advertisements in English. One in particular caught my eye:

She was his fiancee (fiancé), he was her beau (male companion) .

She was the femme fatale, (seductress, siren) he was the voyeaur (pervert, Peeping Tom) .

In the moist atmosphere (atmosphere) of the coach they contemplated the girl,

Naïve & petite, (credulous & small) offered to their very desires (desires) .

Before they arrived at the pied-a-terre (temporary residence)

A new ménage-a-trois (threesome) was born.

French, the best part of English

I tried desperately to extract a positive meaning from this, giving those behind the repulsively misogynistic advertisement the benefit of a doubt, but I could not find any justification for this message. It seems to promote and indorse rape rather than foreign language immersion. The French words used throughout the advertisement share the same meaning in English as in French. I truly hope for the sake of French reputation that they do not find these aspects the best part of any language when arranged to form such a meaning. I don’t know what they expected to accomplish, but I’m willing to bet that they had a few oddballs signing up for courses that semester.

This is not an uncommon occurrence throughout the world. Businesses have cranked out a few well meaning but offensive names over the years. In the U.S. and Canada for example, a plethora of Asian and Indian restaurants have both delighted and tempted customers with their menu while at the same time rendering them speechless in disbelief. Some such titles include: Pho Bich Nga, Phat Phuc, Ifuku, Vagina Tandoori, Herpes Pizza, Anal Indian Take Away, and an instant Asian noodle brand entitled, Soup for Sluts. This happens within English-speaking countries so it can only be assumed that it happens outside of those same countries. In France there are many examples of how a business owner misuses English; Here are two examples that I spotted on my last trip to Brest: a clothing store named ‘’Black Store,’’ and a café called ‘’La gentil ho.’’ The clothing store is offensive because it advertises clothing stereotypical of famous rappers and their fans. They refer to this as ‘’black’’ and ‘’urban’’ fashion. In French the English term’’ black’’ is only used to refer to those of low-income families of African, non-Arab descent, so it’s safe to say that this store title is offensive. The ‘’La gentil ho’’ café means the nice girl in French, but for those with a knowledge of English it can mean something quite contrary.

These examples aim to delight the English speaker, but also serve as a cautionary tale. Double-check your foreign language idioms before using them (especially in business) because otherwise, you might end up on a list like this yourself.

Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette is currently a resident of Paris, France, where she lives with her husband. Together the two of them operate their small translation company, giving Jacqueline the opportunity to observe the French and their culture up close. She is an avid reader, writer, and student of foreign languages.

By Jacqueline Perrier-Gillette