Collection of the Most Frequent Faulty Expressions and Anglicisms

Gingras, Jules FabienProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.4

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Recueil des expressions vicieuses et des anglicismes les plus fréquents by GingrasAuthor: Gingras, Jules Fabien,Language: French, Class: PC: Language and Literatures: Romance languages: Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Dec 26, 2007

Editor's review

This is a prescriptive usage guide written in French that catalogues common errors and anglicisms in the language. Its author, Jules Fabien Janguelas, examines each entry one by one, helping readers identify nonstandard usages and supplying purer French equivalents. Its value lies not in systematic grammar instruction but in its practical "list of corrections" format: readers can look up entries as needed or read through to sharpen their feel for the language. As a public-domain e-book, the text is easy to search and excerpt, making it a useful supplementary reference for French writing and translation. It is typically used for desk reference, revising French writing, proofreading translations, or self-checking by language enthusiasts. Note that it was compiled long ago, and some usages then considered English borrowings have since entered standard French; readers should consult contemporary dictionaries and corpora rather than treating every entry as an absolute prohibition.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate and advanced French learners who want to reduce anglicisms in their writing and speech
French translators and proofreaders who need to check doubtful usages quickly
French teachers looking for correction examples and classroom discussion material
Language enthusiasts interested in French language norms and borrowing phenomena

Not a good fit for

Absolute beginners in French; the entries assume some grounding in grammar and vocabulary
Beginners seeking a systematic French grammar course; the book is not organized by grammatical system
Readers who accept only contemporary usage and are unwilling to distinguish historical norms

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and preface first to understand how entries are organized, then look up specific doubts encountered in writing
Keep a contemporary French dictionary at hand for comparison and note which usages are now accepted
Excerpt entries relevant to your own writing habits into a personal correction list and review it regularly
Read only ten to twenty entries at a time and try rewriting the original sentences in standard form to reinforce learning

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What French level is this book suitable for?

It is better suited to intermediate and advanced learners who already have basic French grammar and can understand French definitions. Absolute beginners will struggle because the entries frequently involve synonym discrimination and register notes; build up grammar and vocabulary first.

Are the "errors" listed in the book still considered errors today?

Not necessarily. The book was compiled long ago and language evolves; some usages once seen as anglicisms have since entered standard French or even dictionaries. Rely on contemporary authoritative dictionaries and actual usage data, and treat the book as a source of leads rather than absolute prohibitions.

Can this book be used as a grammar textbook for systematic study?

No. It lists common errors and anglicisms entry by entry as a correction-oriented reference, without step-by-step grammar explanations or exercises. Systematic grammar study still requires a dedicated textbook; this book works best as a supplementary aid for checking usage and sharpening language sense.

Any practical tips for reading the e-book version?

Use the search function to look up entries by keyword, and bookmark or excerpt relevant entries to build a personal list of frequent mistakes. As a public-domain e-text, the layout may be plain; organize your notes with note-taking software for quick reference during future writing.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Gingras, Jules Fabien Author

Jules Fabien Gingras is a French-Canadian author whose biographical details, including dates of birth and death and specific life experiences, remain very limited in publicly available sources. The library holds only one work by him, Recueil des expressions vicieuses et des anglicismes les plus fréquents, whose title suggests a practical reference compiling faulty French expressions and common Anglicisms, reflecting the author's concern for the purity and correctness of the French language. Existing notes also mention that his works touch on poetry and essays, indicating that he was also engaged in literary writing. Overall, Gingras is a French-language author known for his focus on language norms while also venturing into literary creation; given the limited materials, however, a fuller picture of his life and work still awaits further research.