French by Repetition (2000 Expressions ...)

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French by Repetition (2000 Expressions ...)

Postby Speakeasy » Wed Apr 05, 2017 3:42 pm

In response to the discussion thread entitled "German by Repetition (2000 Expressions ...)" fellow member Neumanc kindly posted a short review of the materials and, in doing so, made mention of a separate publication and website for learners of French. With a view to highlighting this separate resource, I have opened a new discussion thread.
neumanc wrote:What a great find! I find the voices very enjoyable to listen to and the expressions quite useful. It seems to be very similiar to the Glossika GMS files (however, only in one format: English-German). Together it's 4,000 sentences. Since the files are free to download, they could be chopped up using Audacity and recompiled vice versa in order to brush up on English everyday expressions. That's how I will use these files (as soon as I find the time for that). And the best is: There's also French by Repetition: http://www.frenchbyrepetition.co.uk/
The books are available via the publisher's website and via Amazon, AbeBooks, eBay, and elsewhere.

2000 Everyday English Expressions Translated into French
https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-English-Expressions-Translated-French-ebook/dp/B00B1CWE14/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1491407137&sr=8-3&keywords=2000+expressions

Another 2000 Everyday English Expressions Translated Into French
https://www.amazon.com/Another-Everyday-English-Expressions-Translated-ebook/dp/B00L85K6BO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491407225&sr=8-1&keywords=Another+2000+Everyday+English+Expressions+Translated+into+French

EDITED: Typos, comme toujours!
Last edited by Speakeasy on Thu Apr 06, 2017 10:24 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Xenops
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Re: French by Repition (2000 Expressions ...)

Postby Xenops » Thu Apr 06, 2017 12:44 am

Ooh! Does this include slang and--what do you call it--where they shorten or invert letters in a word?
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Re: French by Repetition (2000 Expressions ...)

Postby Speakeasy » Thu Apr 06, 2017 2:49 am

Xenops, by accessing the Amazon webpage for these books, you can view a small portion of the text via their "Look Inside" feature. Having had a quick tour of the both books, my impression is that the expressions are fairly common, either somewhat or only slightly idiomatic, but that not what-I-would-consider-to-be slang.

There are presently only a few Amazon Customer Reviews on Amazon.co.uk which I read earlier today and, despite the negative tone of a couple of them, I placed an order for the two German booklets for the total price of 12 Canadian Pesos. Given the low cost, I suggest that some foolhardy and reckless member of the forum do likewise and purchase the French booklets ... au diable les torpilles, en avant!


Amazon Customer Reviews
(4*) Like a dictionary of French expressions
4 Star means - I like it.

Bought both this and the 'Another' - amazing effort to put together 4000 (between both) - it is like a dictionary, we don't use every word of it, so I don't think the other reviews makes sense at all...

Maybe it could have a small introduction with suggestions on how to use it, how to exercise the expressions, etc - my guess Kit's purpose is to invite for a read through and choose what you would like and start repeating, and repeating, and repeating, and ... so, au travail

(3*) Both Kit Bet books could be compressed into one book with useful phrases
Both Kit Bett books could be compressed into one useful book with useful phrases. I agree that there are some terrible phrases that no one would use in their lifetime such as: 'he fancies himself as a gardener' or 'ours is a middle-of-the-road policy' or 'it's the last word in photocopiers'. Despite the many useless phrases there are many useful translations for phrases such as 'don't beat about the bush', 'that makes my blood boil', 'it really bugs me', 'he showed his true colours', 'I don't feel up to it', 'I can't quite put my finger on it', 'that's a blessing in disguise', 'it's money down the drain', 'he's his own worst enemy' - to name a few. Still disappointed with the book, although I feel it does have something to offer.

To which someone replied:
The expressions which all three reviewers have deemed as not in usage are all to be found in the Oxford Modern English Dictionary. If a reviewer never uses some of the expressions: fair enough. It depends on age; and literacy.
None of the reviewers have commented on the fact that these books are to be used in conjunction with their audio. Download the audio and use the modules as a learning tool. It is a bit disappointing that nobody has yet commented on this the central feature of the books. It would be nice if a reviewer were to comment on the effectiveness or otherwise of this feature. Kit Bett

(1*) Very Poor
Very poor, and very disappointed with this book also brought Another 2000 everyday English expressions translated into French.
Much to my regret a complete waste of money , I would say over half of the expressions I would not personally use for example." He was within an ace of falling over". Who says that in English ? or." For good measure he cleaned the silver." It will not improve my French .Quite the reverse in fact .Oh and for seven quid it's a rip off.

(1*) One Star
Poor, not everyday expressions at all. Would not recommend.

EDITED: typos, encore!
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Re: French by Repetition (2000 Expressions ...)

Postby Xenops » Fri Apr 07, 2017 2:16 pm

Something that makes me concerned is the note on the bottom of the page: http://www.frenchbyrepetition.co.uk./modules_1-10.htm


Translation is not an exact science. If you think you can improve a translation then email it to the address below. If we accept the improvement then we will list your name as a contributor in the next edition. info@frenchbyrepetition.co.uk


It makes me wonder if they are taking the English phrase and translating almost literally into the French, rather than finding the French equivalent. I'm thinking of the Spanish book where it takes idioms that make no sense in English, but have English equivalents (it looks like there's a French one too):

https://www.amazon.com/101-Spanish-Idioms-Cassagne-Jean-Marie/dp/0844272175/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491574381&sr=8-2&keywords=101+spanish+idioms

Any thoughts?

Edit: Here is the French version, and the newer addition has audio included:
https://www.amazon.com/101-French-Idioms-Cassagne-Jean-Marie/dp/0844212903/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0844212903&pd_rd_r=M6M9AE92WCADDKCT8J74&pd_rd_w=vUYwX&pd_rd_wg=pHniJ&psc=1&refRID=M6M9AE92WCADDKCT8J74
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Re: French by Repetition (2000 Expressions ...)

Postby Arnaud » Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:42 pm

From what I see from the amazon preview, the translation is natural, it's not a machine/literal translation but a search of equivalence.
Some expressions are a little outdated, but on the whole it seems a good product
Xenops wrote:
It makes me wonder if they are taking the English phrase and translating almost literally into the French, rather than finding the French equivalent.
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