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Native French speakers - help please


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'Calvin' has a French oral exam tomorrow and doesn't know the correct way to describe two after-school activities: creative writing club and debating club. He has some ideas from the dictionary but is not sure that they convey the meaning correctly. Would you be able to translate for me please?

 

Many thanks

 

Laura

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I asked dh, and he was stumped on these as he said they aren't (or at least, weren't, as they may be now) part of what was offered when he was in school.

 

However, he said if he had to tell his family about these activities (as if our kids were participating) he would use the following:

 

Club de jeunes ecrivains and club de debat (sorry, don't know my keyboard shortcuts for the accents).

 

He did say for the creative writing, there are a few options, but for a club that meets once a week or once a month, he would use the above (as none of them fit perfectly), and other alternatives would indicate a 'camp' (as in atelier d'ecriture), or readers discussing books (as in club de literature).

 

Good luck with this! It's tricky to describe something in a foreign language that isn't 'done' there. Dh has had this happen several times over the years.

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I asked dh, and he was stumped on these as he said they aren't (or at least, weren't, as they may be now) part of what was offered when he was in school.

 

However, he said if he had to tell his family about these activities (as if our kids were participating) he would use the following:

 

Club de jeunes ecrivains and club de debat (sorry, don't know my keyboard shortcuts for the accents).

 

He did say for the creative writing, there are a few options, but for a club that meets once a week or once a month, he would use the above (as none of them fit perfectly), and other alternatives would indicate a 'camp' (as in atelier d'ecriture), or readers discussing books (as in club de literature).

 

Good luck with this! It's tricky to describe something in a foreign language that isn't 'done' there. Dh has had this happen several times over the years.

 

:iagree:

 

"Club" does not really fit... I would say atelier d'écriture créative

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:iagree:

 

"Club" does not really fit... I would say atelier d'écriture créative

 

Not a native speaker, but I have a daughter in a French school.

 

She says atelier d'écriture, and club de débat.

 

Huh. Dh said atelier, to him, sounds more like a 'camp' of sorts rather than a a group gathering that meets for a few hours weekly or monthly.

 

He also said that using 'creative', while the meaning would be understood, isn't necessary, and is a bit strange.

 

Maybe it's a regional thing? Maybe it's like a shopping cart vs a buggy? Or saying this Wednesday vs next Wednesday?

 

Interesting.

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