Congratulations to Geneviève Gnahoue who won the draw!
Cliquez sur chacune des questions linguistiques. Trop difficile? Lâchez pas la patate! Cliquez sur les indices menant au Portail linguistique du Canada.
The contest is now closed! Have fun answering the questions and seeing the correct answers!
Attachez vot’ tuque! This March, 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
Click on each of the language-related questions, answer it and submit an entry form. Each correct answer gives you a chance to win. You can enter the contest twice a day—once in English and once in French.
If you find the questions too challenging, lâchez pas la patate! Click on the hints that lead to the Language Portal of Canada website to double your chances to win!
The French expressions se bailler l’erre and se bailler l’air are Acadianisms; that is, they come from Acadian French.
What do these expressions mean?
- a)to give yourself a gift
- b)to go to sleep
- c)to start doing something in a hurry
In Canada, the French verb paqueter is used in a number of idioms, including se paqueter la fraise and paqueter ses petits.
What does the idiom paqueter ses petits mean?
- a)to pack your bags
- b)to swoon over poetry
- c)to make your money grow
The French verb barguigner is still used in Canada, even though it’s no longer common in the rest of the Francophonie.
What does this verb mean in Canada?
- a)to bargain or negotiate
- b)to mumble or slur your words
- c)to shake or stir something
In Canada, the French verb pogner has a number of meanings, including “to take” or “to catch.”
Conjugate the verb pogner in the following sentence: Quand on allait au lac, vous ______ toujours les plus gros poissons.
- a)pogniez
- b)ayiez pogné
- c)pognai
The French noun comprenure is used in Canada and Belgium, whereas comprenette is more common in the rest of the Francophonie.
What does the expression être dur de comprenure mean in the following sentence? Tant que je n’ai pas bu mon café du matin, je suis assez dur de comprenure!
- a)to have trouble waking up
- b)to be slow to understand something
- c)to ignore the people around you
ENTRY FORM
To submit an entry form, you must answer all of the contest questions. And as the saying goes, rev’nez donc faire un p’tit tour demain!
The contest questions were prepared by the Language Portal of Canada, an initiative of Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Translation Bureau.
