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Writer on French language and life in France
Alysa Salzberg is an American writer and cookie enthusiast who has lived in Paris, France for over a decade. She's the author of Hearts at Dawn, a Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice book that retells Beauty and the Beast during the 1870 Siege of Paris. She brings a unique perspective to French language and culture from her years living in France.
Long before I started learning French, I’d sing the line, Dormez-vous, dormez-vous? (Are you sleeping, are you sleeping?) from the international hit nursery rhyme “Frè…
Recently, a friend asked me the best thing to watch to practice his English listening skills. He was surprised when I suggested Peppa Pig. We don’t tend to take cartoo…
French humor is a funny thing. Okay, I started this article with a lame play on words – but I promise that (this time), it’s on purpose. You see, when it comes to Fren…
When I met the man who would become my first serious French boyfriend, the first thing I learned was how to master flirty text messages in another language. The second…
An estimated 12 million French people go to their boulangerie (bakery) every day. But what do they buy there? Baguettes (in many different varieties) are still the t…
Paris has 4 distinct seasons: winter, spring, summer, fall – but each month has so many features that make it stand out, that it’s often difficult to divide the year i…
Sortir (to get out) is a verb full of exceptions. It’s irregular, and it can have either être or avoir as an auxiliary verb, depending on the meaning you want to con…
Of all the words that intimidate the beginner French students I’ve worked with, eau is in the top 10. For speakers of many other languages, it’s such a strange combin…
One winter night, I cross the cobblestones of the rue Saint-Julien le Pauvre, shooting a quick, but ever-impressed look at Notre Dame, which seems to tower over everyt…
Numbers are undeniably important when it comes to interacting with other people, from telling someone how old you are, to finding out how much something in a store cos…
