Learn how to talk about your profession
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Sam: Today I’m joined here by? |
| Céline: Céline. |
| Sam: Welcome back. |
| Céline: Bienvenue. |
| Sam: So, are you ready for another exciting lesson? |
| Céline: Of course. |
| Sam: I think it’s truly going to be awesome today. |
| Céline: Really awesome. |
| Sam: Yes. So, what’s today’s lesson about? |
| Céline: Today, we’re going to talk about jobs, but more specifically. |
| Sam: Great. And the conversation should be between two people, right? |
| Céline: Yes. |
| Sam: Who are the speakers? |
| Céline: I don’t know, but they’re not friends. |
| Sam: So, they’re going to be using more formal French, right? |
| Céline: Tout à fait, exactly. |
| Sam: The conversation is between? |
| Céline: Monsieur Cardin et madame Lanvin. |
| Sam: Ok, let’s go. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Woman: Vous êtes docteur? |
| Woman: Oui. Ma spécialité c’est l’ophtalmologie. Et vous, vous êtes avocat? |
| Woman: Oui. Ma spécialité c’est le droit médical. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Sam: So, Céline, what are some French specialties? |
| Céline: We have lots. TGV. |
| Sam: Train à Grande Vitesse. |
| Céline: Yes, the fastest. |
| Sam: Very smooth, too, isn’t it? |
| Céline: Yes, it is, of course. Airplane? |
| Sam: Airbus? |
| Céline: Airbus, tout à fait. |
| Sam: Toulouse, right? |
| Céline: Yes, the factory is in Toulouse. |
| Sam: Your hometown. |
| Céline: Yes, and with the biggest airplane A380. |
| Sam: Oh, yes. The A380. |
| Céline: Oui. |
| Sam: Wow, great. How about some other specialties? |
| Céline: Cinéma. |
| Sam: Of course, the fantastic French cinema. |
| Céline: Oui. Fantastic. Music? Electronic music? |
| Sam: Of course, electronic music. |
| Céline: Yes, “Air”, “Daft Punk”, “Justice”. Yes. You know them, right? |
| Sam: Of course. |
| Céline: And also hip-hop. |
| Sam: MC Solaar? |
| Céline: Exactement. MC Solaar. He’s famous in the United States. |
| Sam: Yes. |
| Céline: Yes. |
| Sam: I have one of his CDs somewhere. |
| Céline: Somewhere? |
| Sam: I got it for a present. |
| Céline: And then fashion? |
| Sam: Of course. |
| Céline: Ah attends, Paris hein. And kiss? |
| Sam: The rock band from Detroit? |
| Céline: No. Kiss. Like in kissing. |
| Sam: Like a French kiss? |
| Céline: Yes. So, let’s get into the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Sam: Ok. Now, let’s get into today’s vocabulary. The first item is? |
| Céline: Vous êtes. |
| Sam: Formal version of “You are” or plural version of “you are”. |
| Céline: Vous êtes. Vous êtes. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: C’est. |
| Sam: “It is” |
| Céline: C’est. C’est. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Spécialité. |
| Sam: “Specialty” |
| Céline: Spécialité. Spécialité. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Ophtalmologie. |
| Sam: “Ophthalmology” |
| Céline: Ophtalmologie. Ophtalmologie. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Avocat. |
| Sam: In American English, “lawyer”. In British English “advocate”. |
| Céline: Avocat. Avocat. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Docteur. |
| Sam: “Doctor” |
| Céline: Docteur. Docteur. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Droit. |
| Sam: “Law” |
| Céline: Droit. Droit. |
| Sam: Next? |
| Céline: Médical. |
| Sam: “Medical” |
| Céline: Médical. Médical. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Sam: Now, let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of the items from today’s lesson. |
| Céline: The first item we’ll look at is: vous êtes. |
| Sam: It means “you are” formal, or it can also mean “you are” plural. |
| Céline: Tout à fait. It’s the conjugation of “être”. |
| Sam: Let’s remind our wonderful listeners out there that when you’re chatting with your friends, you can use the “tu” form, which is more informal. Tu es. |
| Céline: Oui, “you are”. Next we have “spécialité”. |
| Sam: “Specialty”. |
| Céline: In the dialogue it refers to job. For example, je suis professeur. |
| Sam: “I’m a teacher.” |
| Céline: Ma spécialité c’est la physique. |
| Sam: “My specialty is physics.” |
| Céline: In other situation, it means something you’re good at. For example, cooking, sports or other activities. An example? Ma spécialité c’est la quiche Lorraine. |
| Sam: “My specialty is Lorraine quiche.” |
| Céline: Ma spécialité c’est le chant lyrique. |
| Sam: “My specialty is the lyric chant.” |
| Céline: Another situation, if you’re travelling in France, and you want to try the specialty of the region, you may ask: Quelle est la spécialité de la région? Quelle est la spécialité de la région? |
| Sam: “What’s the specialty of the region?”, in terms of food. |
| Céline: Yes, for example, in Toulouse, my hometown, la spécialité c’est le cassoulet. It’s the cassoulet. It’s really delicious, it’s a dish made from beans and duck. |
| Sam: Sounds delicious. I want to try it with some ketchup. |
| Céline: Oh mon Dieu. Don’t do that in Toulouse. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: So, next word is “ophtalmologie”. |
| Sam: “Ophthalmology” |
| Céline: So, it comes from the Greek “ophtalmos”, meaning “eye”. You can also find the same word from Latin, un “oculiste” – “an eye doctor”. So, if you have an eye problem, you may go to un ophtalmologue. |
| Sam: “An ophthalmologist”. If you’re short sighted... |
| Céline: Yes. Myope. Je suis myope. “I am short sighted.” |
| Sam: So, you wear contact lenses. |
| Céline: Oui, je porte des lentilles de contact. Also “an eye” in French is “un oeil”, “eyes” is “des yeux”. |
| Sam: Three eyes? |
| Céline: No, three eyes don’t exist. N’importe quoi. Let’s look at the next word, which is “avocat”. |
| Sam: “Lawyer”, in American English, maybe our British friends might say “advocate”, too. |
| Céline: D’accord. So, in French, it also means “avocado”, so if you have a French lawyer, you should call him or her “maître”. For example, if you were a lawyer in France, I would call you “Maître Smith”. |
| Sam: Oh, ok. Got it. Translated it as “Master”, but we don’t really have an equivalent in English. We would just say “Mr.” or “Ms.” or “Mrs.”. |
| Céline: Smith. |
| Sam: Yes. |
| Céline: D’accord. |
| Sam: That leads us to our next word? |
| Céline: Droit. Le droit. |
| Sam: “Law” |
| Céline: Yes, it’s “law”, but if you want to say “against the law”, for example, in French, you have to use “la loi”. Contre la loi. |
| Sam: So, “la loi” is “the law”. So, “contre la loi”... |
| Céline: ...“Against the law”. |
| Sam: “Against the law”. Ok. C’est illégal? |
| Céline: C’est illégal. |
| Sam: Ok, I got you. C’est illégal? It’s illegal? |
| Céline: What? Smoking in restaurants in France? |
| Sam: I don’t know? Is it? |
| Céline: Yes. Yes it is. We can’t anymore. |
| Sam: Oh no. |
| Céline: Oui. C’est terrible. |
| Sam: That’s terrible for smokers, right? |
| Céline: For smokers that’s terrible. |
| Sam: For non-smokers, it’s great. |
| Céline: Yes, smoking is bad for your health. And, that leads us to our next word, which is “médical”. |
| Sam: “Medical” |
| Céline: So, if you’re sick you will have to go to “un centre médical”. |
| Sam: “A health center”? |
| Céline: Oui. And get “un examen médical”. |
| Sam: “A medical examination”? |
| Céline: Yes, so when you’re sick in France, you can say “je suis malade”. |
| Sam: “I’m sick.” |
| Céline: Oui. Did you know, Sam, that we have one of the best health care system in France? |
| Sam: Yes, I knew that actually. It’s quite comprehensive. |
| Céline: What do you mean? Comprehensive? |
| Sam: For example, if a lady has a baby and she needs help on her at the home, doesn’t the government subsidize a nanny or some sort of special help for her? |
| Céline: Exactly. Yes. |
| Sam: That’s a fantastic program. |
| Céline: Yes, that is. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Sam: So, why don’t we examine the grammar point? |
| Céline: Oui bonne idée. Good idea. |
| Sam: Ok. |
| Céline: Well, Sam, today is very, very easy. Do you remember how to ask about someone’s job in French? |
| Sam: Yes. Qu’est-ce que vous faites? |
| Céline: Oui. Qu’est-ce que vous faites? |
| Sam: “What do you do?” |
| Céline: Je suis médecin. – “I am a doctor.” |
| Sam: Médecin. That sounds like the word “medicine”. |
| Céline: Yes, but it’s not. “Médecin” is the equivalent of “docteur”. “Medicine” in French is “médicament”. |
| Sam: Médicament. |
| Céline: Oui. So totally different. |
| Sam: But still kind of similar. |
| Céline: Oui, it’s related to health. |
| Sam: Ok. So, easy for our listeners to remember. |
| Céline: Oui. Another example: vous êtes cuisinier? |
| Sam: “Are you a cook?” |
| Céline: Oui je suis cuisinier. “Yes, I’m a cook.” Well, for me, it’s “cuisinière”, because I’m a woman. In that case, it’s a yes/no question. You know? You remember the clause questions in French? |
| Sam: Of course. |
| Céline: Ok. But, if you have no idea about the job, and it’s almost always the case, just ask “qu’est-ce que vous faites?”. |
| Sam: “What do you do?” |
| Céline: Yes, and remember Sam. Many jobs in French have their equivalent at the feminine form. Please check the Grammar Bank of this lesson or feel free to ask a question on the Comment Section. |
| Sam: C’est une bonne idée. – “That’s a good idea.” |
| Céline: Oui. Most professional activities has various specialties. For example, a cook can be more skillful in deserts or Asian cuisine. To ask about specialty: Quelle est votre spécialité? |
| Sam: “What’s your specialty?” |
| Céline: Ma sécialité c’est la pâtisserie. |
| Sam: “My specialty is pastry.” |
| Céline: See? Really easy. “Ma spécialité c’est” + your specialty. But, Sam, if your specialty happens to be a plural noun, like cocktails, the pattern changes. Ma spécialité, ce sont les cocktails. |
| Sam: “My specialty are cocktails.” |
| Céline: Literally. So, Sam, let’s practice. Qu’est-ce que vous faites? “What do you do?” |
| Sam: Je suis footballeur. “I’m a soccer player.” |
| Céline: Et quelle est votre spécialité? |
| Sam: Ma spécialité c’est les coups de tête. “My specialty is the header.” |
| Céline: I know what you’re talking about. Are you talking about Zizou, right? |
| Sam: Maybe. |
| Céline: What an useless example for our listeners. Let’s give another one, Sam. |
| Sam: Qu’est-ce que vous faites? “What do you do?” |
| Céline: Je suis pilote de ligne. “I’m an airline pilot.” |
| Sam: Quelle est votre spécialité? “What’s your specialty?” |
| Céline: Ma spécialté, ce sont les Airbus A380. “My specialty are the Airbus A380.” |
| Sam: So, let me recap. To ask about job, you would say? |
| Céline: Qu’est-ce que vous faites? Qu’est-ce que vous faites? |
| Sam: “What do you do?”. Then, to ask about specialty? |
| Céline: Quelle est votre spécialité? Quelle est votre spécialité? |
| Sam: “What’s your specialty?” To tell your specialty, if your specialty is a singular noun? |
| Céline: Ma spécialité c’est le flamenco. Ma spécialité c’est le flamenco. |
| Sam: “My specialty is the Flamenco.” Now, if your specialty is in the plural form? |
| Céline: Ma spécialité ce sont les films d’auteur. Ma spécialité ce sont les films d’auteur. |
| Sam: “My specialty are author movies.” |
| Céline: Wow Sam. That was an explanation. So, I think it’s enough for today, right? |
| Sam: Yes, so… |
| Céline: So what? |
| Sam: Can I ask a question? |
| Céline: Bien sûr! |
| Sam: Quelle est votre spécialité? |
| Céline: Ma spécialité? |
| Sam: Oui. |
| Céline: C’est le baiser. |
| Sam: Le baiser? |
| Céline: Oui. Le baiser. |
| Sam: Qu’est-ce que c’est “le baiser”? |
| Céline: “The kiss”! |
| Sam: Of course. The French kiss. |
| Céline: Yes, don’t forget to put an article before “baiser”. |
Outro |
| Sam: Ok, so until the next time. |
| Céline: Bye. Bisous. |
| Sam: Bye bye. |
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