Learning French - Usage Markers in French Dictionaries

When reading French dictionaries, you will often see in brackets after certain words abbreviations such as fam., Pop., Vulg., Litt., Région., Arch., Vieilli. These are usage marks or marques d'usage . In theory they are provided to help the reader judge when to use or not to use certain words.

The idea is that some words or expressions may have certain connotations that should be taken into account when using them. In English we spontaneously develop an intuitive feel for when to use synonyms like loot, scratch, bread, money, ka-ching, capital.

The common problem here is that many people study book French and not the more colloquial spoken language that most people use. This is the cause of a form of linguistic shock that many language-learners experience when they have to interact with native speakers.

Although the most common problem is that of too much bookish French and not enough casual language, the opposite problem also exists. Some people who have been exposed to a lot of street language may not have learned the more polite formal language. This can have worse disastrous results, as you can well imagine.

Thus, all large dictionaries include these usage marks to show users when to use certain words properly. If a word is unmarked, you can assume that it is neutral and can be used in all circumstances. Here is a quick guide to the typical marks to be found in French dictionaries like Le petit Robert or Le petit Larousse illustration :

Vulg . This indicates vulgar or coarse language. Many of these words revolve around human anatomy, bodily functions and sexuality. You should use these words with the greatest caution. There is nothing wrong with these words. It's just that you have to know when and, above all, when not to use them.

Interestingly, the common French word merde 'crap' is the equivalent of 'break a leg' as a form of encouragement for stage performers. A euphemism for this word is le mot de Cambronne . This reflects to the reply of Napoleon's general, Pierre Cambronne, when asked by the English to surrender at the battle of Waterloo.

Fam., Pop. Words marked familier or populaire are considered rather casual or low-class without being vulgar. Words like le fric, le blé, la piastre (Quebec) are considered temporary synonyms of l'argent 'money'.

Arg. L'argot is French slang. Although close to the previous category, French argot refer specifically to the specialized language of the criminal underworld or of special groups such as prisoners or street gangs.

Litt . Literary language is quite self-explanatory. This is written vocabulary that is used only in books and on very formal occasions. For example, the passé simple tense is very common in the written language but all but absent in the spoken language. Another example is the imperfect subjunctive that can be found in 19th century and early 20th century literature.

Arch., Vieilli. Old and archaic words that have disappeared from contemporary French. They will be found in very old literature.

Région. A regionalism is a word or usage that occurs only in certain French-speaking regions and therefore not considered standard French. In Africa une essencerie is a gas station. In Quebec usage of the adjective dispendieux "expensive" would be a regionalism. It must be noted that a regionalism is always relative to some reference point. Since all major dictionaries are made in France, regionalisms are defined with reference to standard French spoken in France.

Car Battery Tips

With winter arriving shortly, it's best to ensure ahead of time that your car battery is able to last the winter. The last thing you want in this season - or any season for that matter - is to find out you have a dead battery when you try to start your car and it will not turn over. Here are some tips to ensure that you and your vehicle's battery are ready for the winter.

1. Get your battery checked: The next time you have your vehicle serviced (ie oil change) ask the garage to check your battery level. Surprisingly, a car battery is considered flat when it still has 12 volts left even though a fully charged battery typically holds around 12.6 volts. The thing is that your car battery obviously does not have a gauge on it to quickly tell you how much juice is left in it. In that regard, ask your service center to tell you in the fall if your battery will last the winter.

2. Get a good quality battery charger: Consider getting a decent battery charger / tester so you can not only monitor the level of your battery but also recharge it if necessary. The last thing you want is a dead battery in the dead of winter so this device can help to prevent this situation from occurring.

3. Avoid draining your battery: Winters already sap your battery strength with significant use of the car heater, defroster, windscreen wipers and lights, not to mention the extra work involved with cold engine starts in the morning which requires the battery to work harder. Do not leave devices like PDAs, laptops, video games, etc plugged in over night and better yet, avoid charging these devices in your vehicle at all.

4. Avoid overusing your electrical components: Do not leave any electrical devices running longer than you have to. Turn your heater off / down when you can and do not leave them running at full blast. Turn off the defroster after it's cleaned your windshield rather than leaving it running.

5. Monitor the age of your battery: Car batteries can last around 5 years give or take, and depending on your local weather conditions and climate, battery brand, etc. If your battery is getting close to the 5 year range be careful with pushing it too far and risking a dead battery. If you happen to notice dim headlights, slow-moving windshield wipers or other electrical components misbehaving it could be a sign that your battery is on its last legs.

How To Make Money Online By Writing

Golden Rules are very special rules that a person should always remember and never forget.They are extremely important and useful guideposts to keep us on track and headed in the correct direction.

Golden Rules exist to be used, to be followed, to guide you. Regardless of what your main goal is or what challenge you face, the rule will be there. Just find the Golden Rule that applies and abide by it...

4 of the very best Golden Rules to Make Money Online By Writing.

Rule # 1, Write articles for websites. The reason behind that is there are websites such as Textbroker, which pay writers for writing articles on various topics. Remember, you will need to write quality articles in order to have articles accepted. As you become better and you are more seasoned, you can advance and be paid more for your articles.

Rule # 2, Write articles for your blog entry or web page that is promoting a product. Submit the articles to article directories and include a link in the resource box to your blog entry or web page. You will need to take care in this area because you will need to make sure your content is relevant to your blog entry or web page. And you'll want to take into account that the articles will need to be unique if you submit articles to more then one article directory. You don't want to submit duplicate content.

Rule # 3, Start a blog on a topic that you are interested in. Why this is important is because you will need to have compelling content to attract visitors to your blog. Writing about a topic in which you have an interest in will come easier and the words should flow freely. Place ads from AdSense or Infolink on your blog entries or web pages and earn commissions on clicked ads.

Rule # 4, Write articles for other marketers. You would get this done by joining an affliate marketing community that provides the opportunity for members to offer services to other members. People are looking for others to write articles for them, especially if they they don't have the time or the inclination to write articles themselves.

Have confidence in these Golden Rules to make money online by writing. They are time tested and found to be true. Follow them and your own ultimate success may be much more likely and also the results even more satisfying.

How to Know If Your Garage Needs a Jackshaft Opener

Garage door opens, especially automatic ones, make it easier to get you, your car, and yard equipment in and out of the garage with very little hassle. There are many brands and a couple of different styles to choose from when it comes to garage openers, but not all are the same. The construction of the home and the garage space has a great deal to do with either or not a traditional opener will work.

Some homes or garages with unique architecture require atypical overhead doors. In turn, these unusual doors will need special openings to make life easier. Below are some of the circumstances wherein homeowners may find that a jackshaft opener (a type of automatic garage door opener that is mounted on the wall rather than hung from the ceiling) is the best choice for them.

Vaulted / Cathedral Ceiling

If your garage has vaulted or cathedral ceilings, any garage door installer is going to have a difficult time putting in a traditional garage door, let alone an automated opener on a suspended track. it is more difficult to use a traditional overhead door opener. A jackshaft opener is ideal in these types of garages because its side-mounted location is, by default, much easier to reach for installation, repairs, or regular maintenance.

Extra Large Garage Door

Larger doors are quite heavy, which can lead to problems in terms of suspended support that traditional openings provide. The extra weight of an oversized door leads to extreme wear on the opener much more quickly than with a normal sized door. In order to install a more traditional machine that works well, the motor must be larger, which typically also means noisier. Since the motor is larger, it also takes a lot of energy to work every time you need to get in or out of the garage. That means a higher electric bill. A jackshaft opener operates at a different leverage point than traditional garage door doors and thus does not require as powerful of a motor in order to move large overhead doors. The smaller motor means less noise, and many home owners appreciate the quiet motor of a jackshaft opener in comparison to the energy-consuming roar of a traditional suspended automatic overhead door opener.

Small Garages and Storage Space

A small garage means limited space, and if you have any cars parked regularly in a small garage, just getting around your vehicles can be tricky - forget about storing anything in there! A traditional door opener takes a huge amount of space in the upper part of the garage, a space which can otherwise be used for stiking bikes, lawn equipment such as rakes and hoes, or other general garage paraphernalia. A jackshaft opener takes up virtually no space, as it is a much smaller wall unit, and is a perfect choice for any car port or narrow garage.

A jackshaft opener is great for any homeowner that has an atypical garage. It is powerful enough to work on any size door, works regardless of the height or shape of the garage ceiling, takes up little space and is much quighter than other openings. Jackshafts come with an option for a battery backup as well, so you'll never be locked out of your house if the power goes out.

War on the Border

As condemning civil war became a reality rather than a possibility, every state in the United States has a decision to make - whether to stay with the Union or join the nascent Confederacy.

For states where slavery had been abolished, the decision was clear. For those states where slavery was still a legal institution, the decision of whether to remain loyal to the Union or take sides with the Confederacy was much more difficult. For some of these states, the only option was neutrality. Neutrality, however, was an option that proved nearly as perilous as joining the fight.

Five states either openly chose neutrality or were slave states that refused to leave the Union, and became known as border states. Most of these states - Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia - had reasons for declining to take a side that varied from state to state; however, the reasons for abstaining from engagement in the war boiled down to the fact that in most of these states, slaves and those who were either against slavery were often split evenly.

Delaware was a border state in name only. Surrounded by free states, Delaware declined to leave the Union despite the fact that it was still a slave holding state. Although slavery had been widespread in Delaware during the colonial period, by the 1860s, slavery was on the wane. Abolishment of slavery had come to the legislature on several occasions, but had been narrowly defeated each time. Most of Delaware's African-American population was free by the time of the Civil War, and Delaware did not muster any regiments for the Confederacy.

Like Delaware, Maryland declined to leave the Union as well. However, dissent among slaveholders and those who opposed slavery was rife in Maryland, and the state sent troops to both the Union and the Confederacy. Complicating matters further was President Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, which had been addressed in the implicationment of several Maryland State legislators and the mayor and police chief of Baltimore, all of which had supported confidentiality.

Unlike Delaware, Maryland's close proxies to Washington made it the site of several battles and skirmishes during the war. The single bloodiest day of fighting during the war took place at Antietam in 1862.

Abraham Lincoln, himself a native of Kentucky, is known to have said of the state, "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." However, Kentucky was also the birthplace of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and this coincidence was typical of the division in Kentucky regarding the war.

Kentucky was a slave state, with a large population of slaves, but was also home to many who either did not own slaves or opposed slavery. Despite Kentucky declared neutrality, the state was occupied by both Confederate and Union troops, and sent men to both armies. Bloody battles occurred at Mill Springs and Perryville, and numerous other skirmishes occurred throughout the state. Part of the western side of the state attempted to secede from Kentucky, and was recognized by the Confederacy, but the Union presence in Kentucky overrode the Confederate sentiment, and the state officially remained neutral.

Missouri, not unlike Kentucky, was populated by both slave supporters and those who opposed the institution, and likewise became a battleground both for the Federal and Confederate troops, and its own residents.

Missouri declined to leave the Union, but Confederate sympathies were rampant in the state, supported by Governor Claiborne Jackson and other state legislators. Attempts by Jackson to arm the Confederacy rejected first in the implicationment of the state militia to Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon, which ended in a bloody riot, and finally in the exile of the state government to Confederate Arkansas. The provisional government, supported by Lincoln, added to the Union presence in the state, and much of the fighting in Missouri was done by guerrilla gangs such as Quantrill's raiders, who attacked Union troops and civil supporters of the Union alike.

Nowhere, however, were division more deep and destructive than in Virginia. When Virginia chose to secede, the long-simmering disagreements between the powerful southeast part of the state and northwestern part of the state, which considered itself disenfranchised, boiled over. Most of this ill-will centered on the fact that the southeast part of the state, which held a large number of slaves, was awarded more delegates than the northwestern region, where whites outnumbered African-Americans. Slavery, then, was an issue, but not in the sense that it was in other border states.

Upon Virginia's secession, the Wheeling Convention, named for the town of Wheeling, and maintaining of those from the northwest area, voted to repeal secession. This condemned in what was known as the Restored Government of Virginia, which established what became known as West Virginia, and separated the two parts of Virginia.

Not surprisingly, sentiment for both the Union and Confederacy was strong in the new West Virginia. Those who joined the Federal and Confederate armies were nearly equal in numbers. Guerrilla warfare in the new state was rampant, and lasted until 1865.

The border states were often the sites of some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, a fact that is both ironic and understandable. The "brother against brother" situations that typified the war were never more precalent than in states where the populace was as divided among themselves as the Union and the Confederacy were.