Don't Be Deceived By The French

An estimated 19 300 000 British nationals visit France every year – but how many of those visitors fall foul of the intricacies of the French language...? In this light-hearted, illustrated look at French, West Sussex author, Elizabeth Malet Spradbery, concentrates on the words and phrases that could trip up unwary linguists.

For example, if a French person asks you for ‘assistance’ they are not asking for your help, but require your attendance at an event. When they say ‘attendez’, they are not inviting you to a party, but they are asking you to wait. Avoid an ‘entente glaciale’ by learning the difference between ‘heurter’ (to strike) and ‘blesser’ (to hurt).

This book contains over 200 of these descriptive words also known as ‘false friends’ and by reading it you can avoid being caught out by pitfalls in the French language.

‘I enjoy sharing my love of French,’ observes Elizabeth. ‘I like to think of this book as a tongue-in-cheek stinging riposte to books such as Marcel Lucont’s What W e French Think of You British – and Where You are Going Wrong.’