Congratulations to Geneviève Gnahoue who won the draw!
Click on each of the language-related questions. If you find the questions too challenging, lâchez pas la patate! Click on the hints that lead to the Language Portal of Canada website.
The contest is now closed! Have fun answering the questions and discovering the correct answers!
Attachez vot’ tuque! This March is the time to test your linguistic knowledge and explore some expressions from Canada’s Francophonie!
The Prize
You could win a trip for two to a Canadian destination of your choice. The prize includes transportation provided by Air Canada and $2000 spending money.
How to Enter
Apples are both delicious and featured in many delightful French expressions.
What does the expression chanter la pomme à quelqu’un mean?
- a)to reprimand someone
- b)to blackmail someone
- c)to court someone
The French verb ambitionner is frequently used in Canada, but it has different meanings in Canada than in other parts of the Francophonie.
What does the expression n’ambitionne pas mean in the following sentence?
J’en fais déjà beaucoup pour toi, alors n’ambitionne pas!
- a)don’t twist my words
- b)don’t push it
- c)don’t try to outdo me
The French word fraise doesn’t just mean “strawberry.” In a figurative sense, if can refer to someone’s head or face.
What does the expression se bourrer la fraise mean?
- a)to show up somewhere
- b)to eat a large amount
- c)to make fun of someone
In Canada, the French word nanane appears in many expressions, including c’est du nanane, enfant de nanane and rose nanane.
What does enfant de nanane refer to?
- a)a badly behaved child
- b)a child who has eaten too much candy
- c)a well behaved child
The French expressions parler en grandeur and parler à la grandeur are Acadianisms, that is, expressions used in Acadian French.
What do these expressions mean?
- a)to use fancy words
- b)to talk non-stop
- c)to use your hands while talking
The contest questions were prepared by the Language Portal of Canada, an initiative of Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Translation Bureau.
