From: Pierre Joris <[log in to unmask]>
Date: March 27, 2006 9:40:09 PM EST
To: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to poetry and
poetics <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: plein/pregnant
Mark — never saw a french person pull out a dictionary while talking.
Worse: never heard in years of hanging with the French in France a
pregnancy referred to that way. In the 9 months Nicole was pregnant
wiht Miles, I never once heard her or anyone else refer to her
pregnancy as "plein." I've heard human pregnancy called "avoir un
polichinelle dans le tiroir" & about 200 other wierd/wild things,
but not "plein". In the sense of pregnancy it is applied only to
animals. But hey! who am I to say, am not even french — and us
Luxemburgers got wierd speaking habits anyway...
Pierre
On Mar 27, 2006, at 5:52 PM, Mark Weiss wrote:
> Dictionary has both meanings, Pierre. And a lot of us have been
> corrected in exactly the terms Steve was. But context determines a
> lot.
>
> Mark
>
> At 05:41 PM 3/27/2006, you wrote:
>> nope, Steve — in French pregant wld have been "je suis enceinte."
>> what you said "je suis plein" announced that you were loaded to the
>> gills, drunk out of your skull, wasted. -- Pierre
>>
>> On Mar 27, 2006, at 5:07 PM, Stephen Vincent wrote:
>>
>>>> I just spoke to a friend who's newly pregnant, and I heard myself
>>>> using the phrase "with child." Seems an interesting locution.
>>>> Unknown
>>>> in latin languages--the French are full when pregnant (and
>>>> satisfied
>>>> after a meal), for instance.
>>> In my rather intimate experience in this matter, the French either
>>> frown or
>>> laugh at the expression, "Je suis plein", after a good meal. One
>>> formally
>>> says, "J'ai bien mange." (with an accent).
>>>
>>> I learned this first as an exchange student in Normandy - sitting
>>> between my
>>> 16 and 18 year old 'sisters' (already infatuated, as it were) - at
>>> the end
>>> of my first lunch and announcing to one and all, "Je suis plein."
>>> The girls
>>> blushed and the parents looked confused at my whacky French.
>>> Only later to learn from the sisters that I had announced that I was
>>> pregnant. My turn to blush.
>>>
>>> Oh well - all artists - at least occasionally - on some level or
>>> other "are
>>> pregnant." I guess I was precocious!
>>>
>>> Stephen V
>>
>> ==============================================
>> "Blasphemy is a victimless crime." -- a t-shirt sent to Salman
>> Rushdie in the days of the Satanic Verses fatwa.
>> ==============================================
>> Pierre Joris
>> 244 Elm Street
>> Albany NY 12202
>> h: 518 426 0433
>> c: 518 225 7123
>> o: 518 442 40 85
>> Euro cell: 011 33 6 79 368 446
>> email: [log in to unmask]
>> http://pierrejoris.com
>> Nomadics blog: http://pjoris.blogspot.com
>> =========================
==============================================
"Blasphemy is a victimless crime." -- a t-shirt sent to Salman
Rushdie in the days of the Satanic Verses fatwa.
==============================================
Pierre Joris
244 Elm Street
Albany NY 12202
h: 518 426 0433
c: 518 225 7123
o: 518 442 40 85
Euro cell: 011 33 6 79 368 446
email: [log in to unmask]
http://pierrejoris.com
Nomadics blog: http://pjoris.blogspot.com
=========================
==============================================
"Blasphemy is a victimless crime." -- a t-shirt sent to Salman
Rushdie in the days of the Satanic Verses fatwa.
==============================================
Pierre Joris
244 Elm Street
Albany NY 12202
h: 518 426 0433
c: 518 225 7123
o: 518 442 40 85
Euro cell: 011 33 6 79 368 446
email: [log in to unmask]
http://pierrejoris.com
Nomadics blog: http://pjoris.blogspot.com
=========================
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