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La plume de ma tante (phrase)

La plume de ma tante ("my aunt's quill") is a phrase in popular culture, attributed to elementary French language instruction (possibly as early as the 19th century[1]) and used as an example of grammatically correct phrases with limited practical application that are sometimes taught in introductory foreign language texts. As Life magazine said in 1958, "As every student knows, the most idiotically useless phrase in a beginner's French textbook is la plume de ma tante (the quill of my aunt)."[2] The phrase is also used to refer to something deemed completely irrelevant.[3] The term lent its name to the musical play La Plume de Ma Tante, which won a Tony Award in 1959.

The phrase is also used in teaching and remembering the sounds of the French vowel a; La plume de ma tante contains three instances of a that use two different pronunciations. Other limited-use phrases used as pronunciation guides include: Le petit bébé est un peu malade ("the little baby is slightly ill"), which contains six variants of e, and Un bon vin blanc ("a good white wine"), which contains four nasal vowels.

The phrase's French converse is "my tailor is rich" [fr], the first in the original English guide from French publisher Assimil. The similar, more recent phrase "Where is Brian? Brian is in the kitchen" was popularised by comedian Gad Elmaleh.

In other media Edit

In the 1973 horror film The Exorcist, Catholic priest Damien Karras interviews Regan MacNeil, a girl believed to suffer from demonic possession. While Karras probes to determine whether the possession is a hoax, the demon Pazuzu—who has possessed Regan—speaks in Latin and French, languages presumably unknown to Regan. When Karras demands "Quod nomen mihi est?/What is my name?" in Latin, the demon exclaims "La plume de ma tante!",[4] using the phrase as a non sequitur to mock and evade Karras' line of questioning.

Singer and comedian Anna Russell wrote and performed a song called "Je n'ai pas la plume de ma tante" ("I don't have my aunt's quill"), as a parody of French art song.[5][6]

Australian funk band Vaudeville Smash wrote a song "La Plume De Ma Tante" which features a protagonist attempting to seduce a woman only to have her reply: "La plume de ma tante".

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Richard V. Teschner; Eston Earl Evans (15 May 2007). Analyzing the Grammar of English. Georgetown University Press. pp. 2–. ISBN 978-1-58901-166-3. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  2. ^ "Frisky French Fun on Broadway". Life. 8 December 1958. p. 67. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  3. ^ Allison Beeby-Lonsdale (1 January 1996). Teaching Translation from Spanish to English: Worlds Beyond Words. University of Ottawa Press. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-0-7766-0399-5. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  4. ^ "Giving Meaning to the Latin (and French) in 'The Exorcist'". Merriam-Webster.
  5. ^ "Anna Russell". Quixote. 12 (5). 1985.
  6. ^ "Anna Russell: Town Hall: Wednesday, Oct 22nd, at 7.0 p.m.". The Oxford Magazine. The University of Virginia. 1958. p. 63.


plume, tante, phrase, plume, tante, aunt, quill, phrase, popular, culture, attributed, elementary, french, language, instruction, possibly, early, 19th, century, used, example, grammatically, correct, phrases, with, limited, practical, application, that, somet. La plume de ma tante my aunt s quill is a phrase in popular culture attributed to elementary French language instruction possibly as early as the 19th century 1 and used as an example of grammatically correct phrases with limited practical application that are sometimes taught in introductory foreign language texts As Life magazine said in 1958 As every student knows the most idiotically useless phrase in a beginner s French textbook is la plume de ma tante the quill of my aunt 2 The phrase is also used to refer to something deemed completely irrelevant 3 The term lent its name to the musical play La Plume de Ma Tante which won a Tony Award in 1959 The phrase is also used in teaching and remembering the sounds of the French vowel a La plume de ma tante contains three instances of a that use two different pronunciations Other limited use phrases used as pronunciation guides include Le petit bebe est un peu malade the little baby is slightly ill which contains six variants of e and Un bon vin blanc a good white wine which contains four nasal vowels The phrase s French converse is my tailor is rich fr the first in the original English guide from French publisher Assimil The similar more recent phrase Where is Brian Brian is in the kitchen was popularised by comedian Gad Elmaleh In other media EditIn the 1973 horror film The Exorcist Catholic priest Damien Karras interviews Regan MacNeil a girl believed to suffer from demonic possession While Karras probes to determine whether the possession is a hoax the demon Pazuzu who has possessed Regan speaks in Latin and French languages presumably unknown to Regan When Karras demands Quod nomen mihi est What is my name in Latin the demon exclaims La plume de ma tante 4 using the phrase as a non sequitur to mock and evade Karras line of questioning Singer and comedian Anna Russell wrote and performed a song called Je n ai pas la plume de ma tante I don t have my aunt s quill as a parody of French art song 5 6 Australian funk band Vaudeville Smash wrote a song La Plume De Ma Tante which features a protagonist attempting to seduce a woman only to have her reply La plume de ma tante See also EditMy postillion has been struck by lightningReferences Edit Richard V Teschner Eston Earl Evans 15 May 2007 Analyzing the Grammar of English Georgetown University Press pp 2 ISBN 978 1 58901 166 3 Retrieved 30 October 2012 Frisky French Fun on Broadway Life 8 December 1958 p 67 Retrieved 26 April 2014 Allison Beeby Lonsdale 1 January 1996 Teaching Translation from Spanish to English Worlds Beyond Words University of Ottawa Press pp 10 ISBN 978 0 7766 0399 5 Retrieved 30 October 2012 Giving Meaning to the Latin and French in The Exorcist Merriam Webster Anna Russell Quixote 12 5 1985 Anna Russell Town Hall Wednesday Oct 22nd at 7 0 p m The Oxford Magazine The University of Virginia 1958 p 63 nbsp This article about language education is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title La plume de ma tante phrase amp oldid 1171008280, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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