By January of this year, I could no longer bear waking up every morning listening to clock radio news about That Orange Bastard. So I switched the dial to ICI Musique, the French-language equivalent of English Canada's CBC Music.
Now I'm awakened by the program Quand Le Jour Se Lève (When Day Breaks) which plays light, pleasant classical and baroque music.
MUCH NICER TO WAKE UP TO!
Its host, François Lemay, has a beautiful, mellifluous voice, so lovely to listen to. Every morning, he starts off by saying "Bonjour, mes chers amis mélomanes." It was no problem for me to understand "Good morning, my dear friends" but WTF does "mélomanes" mean?
After three or four months of just lazily wondering about it, I bestirred myself to look up "mélomane" using an online translator. I discovered that, as a noun, it means "music lover" and, as an adjective, it means "music-loving." So "mes chers amis mélomanes" means "my dear music-loving friends."
Well! I was so thrilled -- out of all proportion, really -- to learn this new and previously unknown word "mélomane" that it kickstarted my interest again in speaking more French. So I began to ask myself -- where and how can I speak more French in . . . EDMONTON, ALBERTA?
The adventure had begun!
...I just wake up when I wake up!
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer waking up to someone speaking French than news about the grifter. too!
ReplyDeleteBonne chance pour vos études.
That sounds wonderful. I will be so happy when I don't listen to the news and hear about that orange thing ever again. I want politics to get back to boring.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the sound of a different language, what a nice way to wake up.
How wonderful. I have not set an alarm on a daily basis in nearly 20 years.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember C'est La Vie on CBC radio with Bernard St.-Laurent? He took one French word and talked about, I loved that show. My French is very poor sadly but I still remember abrille/to cover up. My brain is a strange place. Good luck on practicing your French.
ReplyDelete@ Pixie -- Thanks for reminding me of that! I'd forgotten all about that little gem of a show! Hmmm, I wonder if it's archived anywhere online in the CBC site? I'll have to check!
DeleteOh I love this!
ReplyDeleteIntrinsic motivation is the best motivation to learn.
And I need the opportunity to use ‘I bestirred myself’ in a sentence STAT!
Try a local college or L’alliance Française, call:587-852-4575.
XOXO
I think our local NPR station has several music options, but only in streaming form.
ReplyDeleteAnd so that program is serving several lovely purposes in your life. Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWaking up to the current news or GOD FORBID, the voice of the rumpster would be just plain awful.
ReplyDeleteMulti-lingual folks are impressive! I know enough French and enough Spanish to be dang--- Wait, probably not even that much. LOL
ReplyDeleteI haven't used an alarm in decades. I wake up in time! But waking to music and another language would be the best option. I wonder if there's DuoLingo in your future?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that the Orange Menace is polluting your airwaves as he is ours. I had to quit listening to the radio for the same reason. And the tv news. But, it's been since 2014 when he ran the first time.
ReplyDeleteOne day we will wake up to good news...
Also (more importantly) congrats on restarting your francophone journey! In a country with two official languages there should be opportunities to speak and hear French, non? That said, I've only been to British Columbia and I didn't hear a word of French.
ReplyDelete@ e -- Yes, there are pockets of French language and francophone culture in every anglophone province. You just have to know where to find them! It's easier in some provinces than other.
DeleteHmm. I just wake up to a generic melody on my cell phone. French might be nicer.
ReplyDeleteI too have flushed the OB from my algorithms, etc...but well, sometimes that turd is somehow still circling the toilet bowl. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI NEVER listen to news in the morning...for the reason you stated and many others. I too awaken to classical music.
ReplyDeleteBesides, if that rat bastard kicks the bucket overnight..I figure everyone and their mother will text me anyhow.
AHAHAHAHA!
DeleteQuelle wonderful! (I could not remember how to spell the French version of 'magnificent', so I copped out with a nice adj. in English. :D
ReplyDeleteMy bladder wakes me up at least twice before my alarm goes off, so no worries about over-sleeping here, LOL!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely way to wake up.
ReplyDeleteHi Debra, I only set my alarm if I have an appointment, otherwise I don't bother. As far as French goes, not sure if you know the song "Quand le soleil dit bonjour aux montagnes". It's a beautiful song!
ReplyDelete@ Linda's Relaxing Lair -- Oh yes, I know that song very well and it's a favourite of mine! Its singer, Lucille Star, was a Franco-Manitobaine from St-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg).
DeleteFor anyone who wants to hear the song, here's a link to a digitally restored version. She sings it first in French and then in English --
https://youtu.be/gXfGTrmTPl8?si=JNUwgKh_upW7Ccnt
I grew up in Quebec and had to and did pass my mandatory French requirements. It was a French nothing like they actually speak in Quebec but I do wonderfully well in France.
ReplyDeleteI figure when he drops dead (painfully, I hope) I'll be awakened by car horns no matter the time!
Debra, I just thought of an old TV show that aired on CBC when I was a child. The show was in English. Chez Helene. Does this bring back any memory for you?
ReplyDelete@ Linda's Relaxing Lair -- Oh yes, when I was a little girl, I watched "Chez Helene" faithfully every morning right before "The Friendly Giant." Those two classic Canadian TV kids shows are probably why I both speak French AND play the recorder today, LOL.
DeleteGood for you. And what a lovely way to wake up.
ReplyDeleteJ’écoute souvent l’émission de radio de Lemay. Aide à bien commencer la journée :)
ReplyDeleteMonsieur Dupuis 🇨🇦
@ Anonymous (Monsieur Dupuis) -- Je sais qu'il est aussi l'animateur d'une emission de jazz. Je l'ecoute de temps en temps le soir.
DeleteI avoid all news as much as I can
ReplyDeleteWhen I do want to know what’s happening in the world I’ll read about it on line
That way I can avoid any headlines that seem too much for me on that particular day.
I can get Radio France online free. The music section is good
ReplyDelete@ gz -- I like French and Quebecois music too!
DeleteExciting. I studied French in 4th and 5th grade, but then we moved to NYC and I wasn’t offered a language until 7th grade and that was Spanish. It’s worked out well, but I loved French, too. I can still repeat the conversation on the LP that was played in class first year. But that’s about it!
ReplyDelete@ Moving with Mitchell -- Oh, I remember when you could get foreign language LPs to learn and practise a language!
DeleteI don't watch the news anymore. I can't speak any other languages.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of him.
ReplyDelete🏎🤗 This fall, you can get exposed to some French words that might be unfamiliar to you (automotively) and enjoy a movie that is almost entirely in French, but will have English subtitles when showing in anglophone provinces and for nonFrench-speaking shlubs like me.
ReplyDelete"Villeneuve : L'ascension d'une légende" will close the Toronto International Film Festival in September and "Villeneuve: Rise of the Legend" will show across Canada starting in November.
I'm looking forward to it because it'll be sort of a Canadian "Rush" about Formula1 racer Gilles Villeneuve who also competed against James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 70s. And, Villeneuve also had to race Formula3 (and snowmobiles) to scrape together money and sponsors for the incredible expense of F1!
Hubby, a Duluthian, mostly wants to see vintage snowmobile racing. I am a sucker for the sadness in glory-seeking true stories of pressing your luck in a dangerous sport! 🥹🏎 Here's more about a movie that can help your French:
https://www.jalopnik.com/2229269/villeneuve-the-rise-of-a-legend-f1-movie-trailer/?utm_content=JP_MS-NL-TOP-3&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%F0%9F%9A%80%20Repossessions%20Are%20Skyrocketing%20As%20Buyers%20Cant%20Afford%20Their%20Own%20Cars%20-%2022776201&sh_kit=2186297cdc1ea5e036f6ef51538c5b4f4c88092c9937f87d2cb27c0789b55f15
@ Cleora Borealis -- Thanks for the heads-up about this movie! I didn't know it was being made. Of course, every Canadian knows who Gilles Villeneuve was! And his son Jacques who also excelled at Formula 1 racing. I'll have to watch for it!
DeleteHell will have been frozen over for decades before I try French again.
ReplyDeleteI think that is an excellent thing to do and so good for your brain!
ReplyDeleteFrench is just a beautiful language in ears to ⏰️ up.
ReplyDeleteHave the wonderful day ahead 🎉
Yes. It's that same kind of curiosity that I've been enjoying so much. I don't remember my high school French but that sounds fun. You might even find yourself back in French class just for the Hell of It.
ReplyDeleteThis is right up my alley. I love classical music first thing in the morning and I'm also planning on taking up French again, I've read that the repetition of language training is excellent for brain power.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Wonderful! French is a beautiful language and I speak a bit :)
ReplyDeleteHi Debra, do you remember an old Quebec TV gameshow that aired on TV Metropole from 1987 to 1991? The show was called Charivari! I used to watch that!
ReplyDelete@ Linda's Relaxing Lair -- I don't think I ever saw that one, alas.
DeleteHi Debra, there is a song that I have always liked, and I am wondering if you know the song. Sentimentale, moi je suis comme ca are the lyrics I remember...the song is by Marie Myriam.
ReplyDelete@ Linda's Relaxing Lair -- Because of your comment, I just listened to her singing it on YouTube -- what a beautiful voice! I see from her Wikipedia entry that she won the Eurovision song contest for France one year too. Thanks for introducing me to this singer!
DeleteI speak German and get by in basic survival Russian. I tried to learn some French in preparation for our trip to Quebec a few years ago, but had no success. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI get thumped awake by my watch. Your way of waking up sounds more humane. 😂 Love this store about what got you going on French again, Debra.
ReplyDelete