The contest is now closed!
Congratulations to the winner:
Jay Goodman, Ontario
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!
A number of Acadian expressions contain the French noun zire. The adjectives zireux, zireuse and zirable also come from the noun zire.
What does the expression faire zire mean?
- a)to make someone laugh out loud
- b)to disgust someone
- c)to make a noise
In Canada, the French word claque is used in a number of idioms, including faire quelque chose d’une claque, manger une claque and donner la claque.
What does the idiom donner la claque mean?
- a)to incite a round of applause
- b)to make a big effort to accomplish something
- c)to reward someone
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 bretter is used informally to mean “to take your time, dawdle or lag behind.”
Conjugate the verb bretter in the following sentence:Pour être aussi en retard, il faut que nous ______ pas mal trop longtemps!
- a)ayons bretté
- b)ayions bretté
- c)eûtes bretté
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
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.
