Welcome to the A to Z Challenge!
Three words for the letter T
*all three of them are spelled like English words, sound like English words but aren’t exactly English words.
*all three of them have just a little French touch.
(A PAIR OF) TENNIS
A pair of tennis shoes is called tennis or a pair of tennis in French.
For example I would say in French: Je mets mes tennis. And not: I put my tennis shoes on.
The game is called tennis as well. And American sneakers are called baskets in France.
Les américains spécifient tennis shoes pour des tennis our une paire de tennis. Les baskets françaises sont des sneakers aux USA.
TENNISMAN OR TENNISWOMAN
A tennis player is called a tennisman or a tenniswoman in French.
Aux Etats Unis un tennisman ou une tenniswoman s’appelle un tennis player.
TALKIE-WALKIE
A Walkie-Talkie is called Talkie-Walkie in France.
Talkie-walkie pour walkie-talkie. Une simple petite inversion dans l’ordre des mots.
Do you know of a French or English word starting with the letter T that has a different meaning whether it’s used in France or the USA?
Connaissez-vous un mot français ou anglais commençant par la lettre T qui a un sens différent selon qu’il soit utilisé en France ou aux Etats Unis?
See you on Monday with the letter U
Meanwhile, I wish you all a great weekend.
A lundi pour la lettre U
En attendant, je vous souhaite à tous un super weekend.
Evelyne Holingue 
I think talkie-walkie works better. I mean, the point is that you can talk. Walking is optional. Tennisman sounds ominous, like talisman but without the mystical qualities. Good luck in the home stretch. I’m so glad I didn’t try this.
Thanks, Dan. If you browsed through your blog I’m sure that you would find a blog post for each letter. Just a thought…
From the letter U to Z I’m going one letter at a time. Surprisingly I only miss two now. So I guess that when we really search we can find an answer. Have a good weekend.
🙂 I like the talkie-walkie, sound quite cute to me!
I got a set for one Christmas when I was a kid. It was a joint gift for my sister and me. Because of course there is not much to do alone with a walkie-talkie, even when it’s called talkie- walkie. 😊
I agree, talkie-walkie makes more sense. Great post, Evelyne
It took me a little while to switch my habit around! See you on your blog, Gulara.
Oh, the talkie-walkie. I’ve never heard it that way round. Well, it’s not very common these days, is it?
I’ve noticed over the years that the French love to change the order. I remember that the UNO get’s the l’ONU in French. That’s quite confusing 😉
Talkie-walkies are still used in professional settings, I’m sure. As for the words re-arranged in French it is normal when in translation. What is fairly new is the common use of words and phrases with English origins and slightly modified to sound a little more French. It’s okay with me, as it illustrates our global world. Besides it gave me the idea of this Challenge. Thank you for your visit.
Very interesting blogs. Did you know the American/English language also ‘borrowed’ quite a few words from the Dutch language? Here’s a page in WikiPedia that points to them:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijst_van_Nederlandse_leenwoorden_in_het_Amerikaans-Engels
The Dutch once ‘owned’ some land at the East coast of the U.S.
New Amsterdam they called their first settllement there, which became known as New York, after we sold the land to the British. Brooklin got its name from the Dutch village of Breukelen for instance. Where old street names like Schermerhorn Street point to other Dutch places.
Very interesting indeed. Thanks for all your AtoZ blogs so far.
Kind regards,
Lex.
Thank you, Lex, for stopping by and commenting with details. American-English is a true melting pot, countless words and expressions arrived on what are now the United States. The result is a strong language with vivid verbs and unique words. I’m not familiar with the Dutch language but familiar with the East Coast and it is true that many towns and cities bear the names of other towns and cities from European countries.
Thank you for tle link. Hope to see you again.