[shanna-miles Posts: 7 Status: Offline I write stories about girls made of star stuff.]

Hi!
     My current manuscript has a character who is pretending to be Creole, but is fluent in French. I am not. Can anyone who is fluent in the language give me a few curses to use? They don't need to be explicit, but anything you'd use if you stubbed your toe will do.

Thanks!

[Schriscoe Posts: 1,765 Status: Offline www.sharonchriscoebooks.com WWW]

Hi Shanna, I don't know any French so I am not help. But I am sure you will get tons of ideas by others.

[Arona Posts: 449 Status: Offline The house didn't fall on me. It fell on my sister.]

Nuts! I had a friend years ago from Louisiana who'd cuss in--what was it?--French creole?--but don't remember any words. If you Google French creole for specifics words (e.g., d*** it, etc.) you'll likely find a blog or site with information. Mild cuss words you probably can find in a translation dictionary. I believe there's one for French Creole.

[Artemesia Posts: 3,790 Status: Offline WWW]

All the French cuss words I know are Quebec French, which is probably really different.

[shanna-miles Posts: 7 Status: Offline I write stories about girls made of star stuff.]

Thanks, guys! I'm definitely looking for mild. I'm hoping to find a native speaker, but it's not a huge community.

[Artemesia Posts: 3,790 Status: Offline WWW]

Well there's zut alors! which doesn't have a real literal translation to English, but is like shoot or darn. Just zut! can be used as well like darn. I don't think these are specific to Quebec only.

ETA: Full disclosure. I'm not a native speaker, but like most Canadians took years of French in school.

ETA: also, if you are saying it in your head it's pronounced zoot a-lore.

[DellaRF Posts: 1,594 Status: Offline website: www.DellaRossFereri.com Twitter: @DellaRF WWW]

'Mince' is the mild version of 'Merde' just like 'Shoot' is the mild version of Sh&#*t. [poo].

[marla-lesage Posts: 383 Status: Offline Write. Illustrate. Revise.]

My bilingual hubby and his quebecois buddies seem to use the F-word alot - or  (F-word)é. He says it's mild to them. I think it equates to me using their F-word equivalent (tabernacle). I don't really feel like I'm swearing when I use it even though it's a significant cuss to them. I probably shouldn't use it so much.  Zut alors or zut is probably pretty safe. Not sure of the difference between Quebec French and France French, but for Quebecois the swear words are church related - tabernacle (right up there with F*), calice, mon dieu (mild). 

[Artemesia Posts: 3,790 Status: Offline WWW]

I learned zut alors in eighth grade French class, so I'm assuming it's pretty safe.

But yes on tabarnak (tabernacle) being the Quebec F-bomb. I had a friend whose father used to swear in French all the time, mostly when the Montreal Canadiens were losing, lol.

[marie-dentan Posts: 102 Status: Offline chocolate fan]

hi
"zut alors" is really tamed. Extremely safe, but not a swear word.
I'm french, so no creole slangs, but I can give you a few words, which are pretty horrible.

"Merde" is truly one that everyone pretty much uses everyday. translate as "[poo]"
"Fais chier" literaly means, "dumping a pooh" quite rude, but used when really agravated.
we have lots of words to describe people in a horrible way.
birds name for idiots: tête de linote, for someone who never remembers anything
un pigeon, for someone who's gullable
for a girl who's ugly, you'd say "c'est un thon" "it's a tunafish."
for someone who has no character: "c'est une chips" "it's a crisps."

the thing is slang in french tends to move really fast, much faster than in English.
but the ones I gave you are still in use, mind the "tete de linote" which is quite old fashion.

good luck

[marie-dentan Posts: 102 Status: Offline chocolate fan]

oh I thought of something else.
it's in creole. it's not slang, but used a lot.
"Pani Problème" which means, "no worries."

hope this helps