Twelfth, the word mnemonic
Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2025 7:13 am
Eleventh, the abbreviation ETC which is the abbreviation of "et cetera." and which means "so on." We tend, when we speak quickly, instead of saying "et cetera," to say "excetera." Because, I don't know, when we speak quickly, it's easier, I think, to pronounce. And in some videos I sometimes say "excetera" instead of saying "et cetera." So, I say "ect" instead of saying "etc." You have to say "et cetera" and not "excetera." But many French people, and I'm the first, make this mistake and they say "excetera," which is not correct.
Twelfth, the word mnemonic. When we use a mnemonic device, it means we take an image to remember something, it comes from memory. And we must say mnemonic since it is MNE, mnemonic. Many say mnemonic because we have the word memo, the word memory, and memo is easier to pronounce than "mnemo". So, if you hear someone say "memotechnic", they made a pronunciation mistake and many French people make this mistake, we must speak of "mnemonic".
Thirteenth, the star-shaped typographic sign. You know what you find in some books where they put a star to refer you to another paragraph. Well, it's an asterisk and not asterix. "Asterix" is very difficult to pronounce for a French person. I also made the mistake in a video where I was corrected. So, we don't say "un Asterix", it's easier for us to say and it reminds us of the comic book characters Asterix, Obelix's friend. We have to say "un asterisk".
Fourteenth, it is a sport that is played with a small ball that you take in your hand and you have to shoot into a goal, we call it handball and not "handbaul". Many sports names end in "baul" because they are of English origin. We talk about "footbaul", "volleybaul", "basketbaul". Some say "handbaul", but the word "handball" comes from laos whatsapp number data German and not from English. So, we call it handball, we don't say "handbaul" because handball is a word of German origin while football is a word of English origin. So, if you hear "handbaul", it's wrong, we're talking about handball.
And the last one, it concerns the capital of Belgium. And I must admit that I make this mistake myself. The X here should be pronounced "s" and not "x". In fact, in Belgium, we speak both French (in Wallonia) and Flemish, Dutch. And Brussels is a word of Dutch origin, so we must pronounce it in the Dutch way. So, we say "Bruccelles" and not Bruxelles. We don't pronounce the "x" in the French way, we don't say Bruxelles, but "Bruccelles".
So, here, you can see that languages evolve. In the pronunciation of certain words, there is evolution. You can also see that there is sometimes a difference between theoretical pronunciation, the one you find in the dictionary, and practical pronunciation, the one you will hear in the street. And the central idea of this video, the basic message, is a message to reassure you - if even the French make pronunciation mistakes, you can be forgiven 200% for making small pronunciation mistakes yourself when you express yourself in French which is not your mother tongue.
Twelfth, the word mnemonic. When we use a mnemonic device, it means we take an image to remember something, it comes from memory. And we must say mnemonic since it is MNE, mnemonic. Many say mnemonic because we have the word memo, the word memory, and memo is easier to pronounce than "mnemo". So, if you hear someone say "memotechnic", they made a pronunciation mistake and many French people make this mistake, we must speak of "mnemonic".
Thirteenth, the star-shaped typographic sign. You know what you find in some books where they put a star to refer you to another paragraph. Well, it's an asterisk and not asterix. "Asterix" is very difficult to pronounce for a French person. I also made the mistake in a video where I was corrected. So, we don't say "un Asterix", it's easier for us to say and it reminds us of the comic book characters Asterix, Obelix's friend. We have to say "un asterisk".
Fourteenth, it is a sport that is played with a small ball that you take in your hand and you have to shoot into a goal, we call it handball and not "handbaul". Many sports names end in "baul" because they are of English origin. We talk about "footbaul", "volleybaul", "basketbaul". Some say "handbaul", but the word "handball" comes from laos whatsapp number data German and not from English. So, we call it handball, we don't say "handbaul" because handball is a word of German origin while football is a word of English origin. So, if you hear "handbaul", it's wrong, we're talking about handball.
And the last one, it concerns the capital of Belgium. And I must admit that I make this mistake myself. The X here should be pronounced "s" and not "x". In fact, in Belgium, we speak both French (in Wallonia) and Flemish, Dutch. And Brussels is a word of Dutch origin, so we must pronounce it in the Dutch way. So, we say "Bruccelles" and not Bruxelles. We don't pronounce the "x" in the French way, we don't say Bruxelles, but "Bruccelles".
So, here, you can see that languages evolve. In the pronunciation of certain words, there is evolution. You can also see that there is sometimes a difference between theoretical pronunciation, the one you find in the dictionary, and practical pronunciation, the one you will hear in the street. And the central idea of this video, the basic message, is a message to reassure you - if even the French make pronunciation mistakes, you can be forgiven 200% for making small pronunciation mistakes yourself when you express yourself in French which is not your mother tongue.