Hehe, yes it sure is. (I hope the message said "a pour objet" with the "c" - just being obstinate. )

Darn, I meant "without the c".

Goatee, I just looked again. No "c." My colleague knows how to spell, even if I don't!

Regards,

Anselm

I have to communicate with a lot of French doctors by email (most from the Paris region). I find the doctors themselves just use "email" but their secretaries almost always say courriel. So courriel is alive and well in France, too.

I had always thought that "pourriel" was derived from "pourri" as Goatee indicated. However, according to the Québec Office de la Langue Français which originated the term, it is a combination: POUbelle (garbage can) and couRRIEL (EMAIL). They also originated another wonderful word for the act of spamming: "pollupostage" from pollution and postage.

What an informative exchange of messages and information.

I write and say courriel but that is what my (French Canadian) language teacher taught me.

Having just read about the use of "mel" (message electronique) I am moved to reflect on the French tendency to contract everything that can be contracted, short of descending into total obscurity.

Many of us are familiar with such popular contractions as resto for restaurant and appart for appartement. But I was surprised, lately, to see (on an e-bulletin board) "le we" for le weekend. And more amused still, when reading the usual tired graffiti in a public washroom in France last week, to see "Vive la sodo" -- meaning...(you guessed it!)

Oh yes, the French love to shorten things. To check your pre-paid mobile phone usage, you check your "conso" (consommation), text messages are "texto", a protest (manifestation) is a "manif", etc etc.

"Oh yes, the French love to shorten things"

So that's why they loved Napoleon?

Harzer

Now, now, let's not dig on Napoleon. He was, after all, 5'6", which according to European standards and men of his day, wasn't too, too small as previously thought. Unfortunately, jokes about his short stature have passed through history, as he was measured by the English system which put him at 5'2"; and it was based on a different one from that of the French (the French height being the accurate one - 5'6&quot. Hence, he was and has been, unfortunately "shortened" to 5'2" when in actuality he was 5'6".

Here's a question for all you French mavens: how do the French <i>pronounce</i> &quot;e-mail&quot; when they say it? Do they try to mimic the English pronunciation, &quot;eee-male&quot; (English phonetics)?

But the French have a tendency to pronounce words more as if they were French, or partially so, and the &quot;eee&quot; pronunciation is only associated with &quot;i&quot; or &quot;y&quot; in French. Perhaps they say &quot;euh-male&quot;, or &quot;ay-male&quot;. Has anyone heard this said?

A possible complicating factor is that <i>&eacute;mail</i> is actually a word in French, meaning &quot;enamel&quot;.

- Larry

Meredith, by the way, to stay on the subject of your original question (for a change): you will often find that there's at least one person at a hotel, B&amp;B, or restaurant who can answer an e-mail or fax in good English. Nevertheless, you will earn good will points for having tried to write in French.

- Larry

The word for email is un courriel.

Cigalechanta- &quot;e-mail&quot; is the word most often used in France for e-mail. ( pronounced &quot;eee-mel&quot &quot;Courriel&quot; is the term most often used in Canada (Quebec). It is rare to hear &quot;courriel&quot; in France- at least in my experience, though you may hear &quot;courrier electronique&quot;.

&quot;J'aimerais&quot; ou je voudrais&quot; are both
correct, but better could be
&quot;serait-il possible d'avoir une r&eacute;servation....&quot;.
Often they want to know in which hotel you are or to have a phone to be able to
join you...
In great restaurants, it is also often asked to reconfirm the day before...
Erik.

Regarding e-mails, some people in France tend to use the word &quot;mel&quot; (pronounced like &quot;mail&quot, but &quot;courriel&quot; is in fact the proper denomination.

However not many people use it. For instance, everybody says &quot;e-mail&quot; (&agrave; l'anglaise !!) in my company...

In my experience, the French usually say &quot;mail&quot; (pronounced &quot;mel&quot.

As for &quot;serait-il possible d'avoir une r&eacute;servation....&quot;, sure, that could work of course (so many varieties) but it sounds a bit odd and needlessly wordy. But I mean we're really splitting hairs here. As it has been pointed out, if the place is large enough to be able to be accepting e-mails, it's very possible someone there speaks English anyway.

I agree with goatee about &quot;Serait-il possible d'avoir une reservation?&quot; It just doesn't sound French -- more like a direct translation of English idiom.

I wince inwardly each time my spouse tells a waiter &quot;Je pense que je vais prendre....&quot; for &quot;I think I'm going to have....&quot; This round-about language is NOT the way the French express themselves -- they are direct where we wander about.

Yet they also embellish wildly where we would not -- but only for politeness.

A very senior colleague never once asked his secretary &quot;Would you please..?&quot; Instead he said &quot;Auriez-vous l'extreme obligeance de...?&quot; -- i.e. &quot;Would you be so very kind as to...&quot;

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading this email string!

I stumbled on it this afternoon while doing a post and must say it made me smile and remember my schooling in Qu&eacute;bec before I became a transplanted Montrealer.

I head off to France next wk on vacation, so &quot;merci mille fois, tout le monde&quot; for giving me a headstart in putting my &quot;French thinking cap&quot; in gear again!

And Meredith, I hope you enjoy the restaurant!

Il n'y a pas de quoi !!!


Enjoy your visit!!!