France in Ten Words?
 

What words come to your mind when thinking of France - words you associate with France?

Mine - in no order

Wine
Cheese
Baguettes
Churches
TGV trains
Markets
Peniche barges
Food
Villages
Cafes

ET TOI?

Seine
Castle
History
Cafe-Creme (1?)
Patisserie
Terrine
Menu
Style
Culture
Movie

Everything
You
Can
Imagine
And
Its
Exact
Polar
Opposite,
Simultaneously

Ok, for realzies this time...

Cuisine
Wine
Chateaux
Charming
Villages
Style
Beauty
Pride
Cafe
Place (pronounced sorta like "ploss")

coquélicot
déviation
vrac
tabac
café
jambon
cabécou
saucisson
sireuil
silex

;;) :-L B-) /:) :-B :^o 8-} [( >:D< :-x

burqas
Sarkozy
Paris
smokes
batobus
st denis
clovis
shabby
chic
bourgeois marriage

I had to ask my French son about StCirq's list and he did not know either 'cabecou' nor 'sireuil' - ??

goat's cheese and I know a Sireuil in France (a town), but perhaps it is something else as well (like Orvieto is also a wine)

In case it wasn't clear, cabécou is a goat's cheese.

Sorry, I meant silure - got it confused with the town of Sireuil across the river from me.

PalenQ - cabecou is a cheese common in the Percy area (not sure if it is goat cheeese, but cheese all the same). So St. Cirq is giving away her geographic interest in this case. (And yes, that word makes ME think of the Dordogne).

I have no idea what "sireuil" means - but I am having a great time trying to figure out how it would sound - another something to look forward to...

My list

Paris
Cassis
Castlenaud
Dordogne
batteau
Souillac
Bergerac
Amis
avion
train

(I must confess that I am troubled by not including the proper article with the words - for example, when I list "train", I mean LE TRAIN, or l'avion and so on).

artists
revolutionaries
lovers
chefs
writers
aesthetes
philosophers
kings
bohemians
expats

Just to point out that there is no 'Percy' area in France, at least not in the South West. I assume you mean'Quercy'. There's lots of cabecou - goat cheese around here.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cab%C3%A9cou

My 10 words - a great place to live and drink lots of wine.

Plus eat lots of cheese.

Maybe Percy is a combination of Périgord and Quercy?

Oh, and joe, as for the pronounciation of Sireuil, the "euil" words in French are notoriously difficult to pronounce for the non-French. The word "écureuil" (squirrel) was used as a nationality test during WWII because hardly anyone who wasn't a French native could pronounce it. Monsieur Vincent, my first French teacher, spent an entire week making us learn that sound.

So - roughly of course - how is it pronounced? Sahr-wheel?

I stand corrected - I don't know what I was thinking (and I read it twice before I hit submit). I think maybe StCirq got me on the combination of two words...? At any rate, I am not humbled (too much) and I loved the explanation on "euil" words. Thank you. I love the sound of French (doesn't "percy" sound like it ought to be French too?):)

Sahr-wheel?

Not even remotely close. I don't know if I can even do it phonetically. Let me see if I can find one of those audio websites. Really, really, REALLY roughly, it's seer-ouy.

Terroir
Champagne
Merde
Cheese
Bonjour
Duck
Market
Sublime
Impossible (frequent, first response to a question)
Paperasse (red tape, paperwork)