Pardon Pastor's French

[Beth]

Beth (me) wrote:
My subject line may be unnecessary, but it was too fun to pass up!

I work on projected screens for worship each week, so I get service
information ahead of time. (Not nearly early enough in my opinion, 
but that's another topic...) This week, we got a last minute change in
sermon title -- "Parler un noveau langage"-- to go with Pentecost, 
it would seem. 

So, I realized that twenty years has made my understanding of French
beyond rusty, but it looked wrong to me. I'm sure it's too late to do
anything about the bulletins, but if this isn't correct, would 
someone be willing to help me fix it so I can make it right on the
screens?


Annemehr replied:
Well, in French, there's the masculine word langage, and the feminine
 langue.  I'm pretty sure it's "une langue" your pastor wants in this
 case.  "Langage" would be used for saying "watch your language!" 
whereas "langue" is for "a foreign language."  But it would be good if
someone wants to confirm this! 

"Parler" is the infinitive: to speak.

So, "To speak a new language" would be "Parler une langue nouvelle."

And "Speak a new language" would be "Parlez une langue nouvelle."

"Let's speak a new language" would be "Parlons une langue nouvelle."

Note the adjective follows the noun.

Hope this helps!

Annemehr


Beth (me) again:
Thank you! I'm happy to know that your first translation was where my
old brain was going, but I wasn't sure about the adjective placement.
I couldn't remember which adjectives were exceptions to the rule. I
guess I'll have to email her after all to find out if she wants that
imperative form or not. 

Thanks so much,
Beth