The contest is now closed!
Congratulations to the winner:
Jay Goodman, Ontario
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!
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
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
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 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 calouetter, which is used in Acadia, is related to the eyes.
What does calouetter mean?
- a)to have blurry vision
- b)to roll your eyes
- c)to blink
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.
