lc

hi. going to cannes (is that pronounced "can" or "con"??) and nice 5/11 - 5/21. i know the highs are 67-69 F, but is it really humid? climate-wise will i be comfortable in nice shorts or better to wear pants? please advise.

Thyra

Hello, can't speak to the weather as I was there in March, but it is pronounced as in can.....in fact it is can...but with a more relaxed a sound not a really really hard A.

Capo

Your question about "can" vs. "con" reminds me how I sure thought it was "con" before visiting Provence for the first time. Now when I pronounce it "can", I get often get "corrected" by other people who are sure it's "con." <BR> <BR>Interestingly, there's a rather funny movie out (starring Seymour Cassel as a movie producer who makes a bet that he can turn a "nobody" into a star) set during the Cannes Film Festival, called "Cannes Man" which uses the incorrect "con" pronouciation to achieve its play on words.

StCirq

Re: pronounciation. It's just like Genghis Kahn.

Andy

go to website www.cnn.com and go to international weather--if Cannes isn't listed,go to Nice or St.Tropez. It will give you the weather with a 5 day forecast and also tell you the humdity

Randall Smith

Bonjour, <BR> <BR>You know what CON means in Fench???? <BR> <BR>Randy le grand connard!!

Capo

Randall, I'm not sure what <I>anything</I> means in Fench. :~) <BR> <BR>StCirq, so it <I>is</I> closer to "con" than to "can"? How can that be? I distinctly recall French people in Provence saying it more like "can."

StCirq

Capo: Apart from the fact that I've studied French since I was basically upright, I just listened to France2, which was focusing heavily on the film festival this evening, and I can assure you it's not like "can." That's how most Americans pronounce it. It's not EXACTLY like Kahn, but it's so close no French person would hear much of a difference. The town of Caen is the one that sounds more like "con," without the last "n" pronounced (or barely). And yes, let's not go there with the meaning of "con" in French. Not a nice word.

Capo

StCirq, Thanks for the correction. What I was hearing sure sounded like "can" to me, but maybe I'd neglected to remove my earplugs. :~) <BR> <BR>I guess the title of "Cannes Man" does, indeed, correctly achieve its play on words. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Randall Smith

Bonjour, <BR> <BR>To anyone who would like to listen to French news and have a relatively fast internet connection, you might want to check into tf1.fr and follow the links to video, and then to the Journal Televise. It actually is much better resolution than Antenne 2 or France 3 or France Info. They broadcast a very enlightening and frequently uplifting hour of French News twice daily, at 13:00 and 20:00. Today they had a piece on the Alsacien Kouglehoff and the Rotinier, the artisans who make the chairs that everyone takes for granted in all the sidewalk cafes in France. St. Cirq should check it out if he isn't currently in France. <BR> <BR>I apologize for the above off color reference, but I thought it was kind of funny. You do hear it alot both in French music and film. <BR> <BR>Ciao, <BR> <BR>Randy Smith <BR> <BR>

StCirq

Capo: <BR> <BR>If "Cannes Man" was intended to be a rhyme, well...uh uh. It's not. Except that a majority of Americans do pronounce the town that way...so maybe that was part of the joke. Was there a joke? But no, you said they pronounced it "con" as in "conman"? This is all getting too confusing.

Capo

StCirq, the intent of the title of that movie is a play on words (i.e. "Con Man"), not a rhyme. Anyway, it's a funny movie which skewers the deal-making and posing at the Cannes Film Festival. <BR> <BR>The people I was referring to who I swore I heard pronounce it "can" were French people in Provence, not people in the movie. <BR> <BR>Randall, thanks. I'd always wondered about those ubiquitous woven chairs in French sidewalk cafés.

StCirq

Capo: It may have been the provençal accent - the tendency to nasalize everything and string out the vowels. Same thing the in the Dordogne - what was "Bon matin" becomes "bon mataihng!" I can see "Kahn" becoming "Cahng" with a slightly Bostonian "a" and "g" sound at the end. <BR> <BR>Or maybe not...

Randall Smith

Hello again, <BR> <BR>We all need to point out that "con" is not pronounce con in French. I agree with St. Cirq that Cannes is pronounce like Kahn and Con is pronounced like Cone but the "n" is nasalized. <BR> <BR>I'm sure that this is very confusing. <BR> <BR>Ciao, <BR> <BR>RJS <BR> <BR>

Deborah

lc, back to your original question, I did not find it humid there and I am from a very dry climate. On question number 2, pants or capri pants are always better than shorts.

J T Kirk

Okay, now that I'm really confused: <BR>Is it pronounced like "can" or like "con"? <BR>I'm having Spock run it through the databank, but I welcome all answers. <BR>Merci.

Celia

It isn't pronounced "can" and it isn't pronounced "con". The vowel in Cannes is one that doesn't exist in English, at least not American English. For those of you who know the IPA, International Phonetic Alphabet, it's the vowel represented by the typed "a". I used to tell my students to try to make a sound somewhere in between the vowel of "cat" and the vowel of "cot".

xxxxx

My understanding is that it is pronounced "carn" as in carnivore. <BR> <BR>Well thats how they say it over here in England anyway.

xxxx

Humidity will NOT be an issue in May.

Shanna

Try this: say American "can" as in "can-do" or "going to the can." Then, instead of pressing your tongue against the back of your lower teeth, press it against the bottom of your mouth, open your mouth slightly wider, and pull your lips back as with a smile. You'll get something of an approximation. And a sprained tongue. Making different sounds means doing something different with tongues and lips. OKAY! I'm getting out of this conversation right now!