French Archives – A Way with Words

Kissed Her on the Stairs

Posted by Grant Barrett on July 12, 2014 · Add Comment

Clean as a Whistle

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 24, 2012 · Add Comment

Stuck His Spoon in the Wall

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 22, 2012 · Add Comment

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Evolving Sign Language

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 1, 2012 · Add Comment

All languages evolve, and sign language is no exception. The British Sign Language Corpus Project has collected footage of nearly 250 deaf people across the U.K., revealing lots of changes, especially as the internet has made it easier for hearing-impaired people to sign to more people. For example, the sign for French people is no [...]
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Sign Languages Differ Just as Spoken Languages Do

Posted by Grant Barrett on December 1, 2012 · Add Comment

If someone uses American Sign Language, can they fully communicate with someone in Bolivia? Or France? Or even England? No! In fact, ASL derives from the French system in use in the early 19th century, and they’re still 60% similar. British Sign Language, which arose independently, would be mostly unintelligible to an American signer. This [...]
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Puddin’ Tame or Pudding Tane

Posted by Grant Barrett on November 24, 2012 · Add Comment

“What’s your name?” “I’m Puddin’ Tame, ask me again and I’ll tell you the same!” This and other rhymes, such as “What’s your number? Cucumber!” derive from French, English, and American children’s folklore that dates to at least as early as the 17th century. Iona and Peter Opie have collected a bundle of these children’s [...]
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