Bastille Bash in Madison Valley over the weekend had all the hallmarks of a successful event. It was the third time around, so there was a committee in place with a clear purpose; corporate sponsors had been lined up, (Seattle Met, Talking Rain, Cedar Grove, Aegis Living, etc.) almost every business along a four-block stretch of Madison joined up (even Belle Epicurean, whose cafeacute; is only half a block further down the road), flags, banners, tents, street performers, traffic wardens, platoons of volunteers, wine gardens, spirits tastings, bottle sales, food stalls (Thierry Rautureau himself on duty at the merguez grill), musicians and singers on three stages. Altogether admirable, and a very popular event, a showcase of European culture.
But why then does no one with even a smidgeon of native French proofread?
It's one thing if Harbour Pointe coffee house gets a Chicken Slider hilariously wrong on its menu ("tiré curseur" is the sliding closure on a baggie, not an edible). That's a badly flubbed translation by Google, although Harbour Pointe doesn't help its case by calling a salmon slider Saumon de Poulet. Nor does it help that Virginie Blackmoor of French Truly holds her monthly French movie nights here. (For the record: she's appalled.)
But c'mon, folks: no one calls a public bathroom "la toilette" let alone "le toilette." La toilette is your morning ablutions, or, if you frequent fancier circles, the clothes you wear when you strut your stuff. The bathroom, on the other hand, is always plural, les toilettes. Got that. Good.
You know me, I'm cranky about lots of things. Particularly when it's something like this, that shows no respect for other languages and cultures. This is Madison Valley, after all, not Appalachia. People have dictionaries. French-speaking people live here, work here. Can't you even ask? Maybe you just don't care if it's wrong. There's an expression for this indifference in French: je m'en fous. Based on an obnoxious stereotype that you're above it all, too privileged to give a rat's ass. Alas, Je m'en foutisme isn't just a French attitude.
Leave a comment