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IT IS COMMONLY SAID - REPEATEDLY - BY YOUNG CHILDREN STARTING THEIR FIRST YEARS AT SCHOOL French parents of toddlers are fully aware of ‘_caca boudin_’ syndrome in their household – the
period, usually when their offspring are about three, and they start to shout the phrase with glorious abandon, seemingly in response to any question or request. It is effectively their
first swear word. So while the phrase is not something that anyone learning French at school – ie. Anglophones – will learn, it is picked up, rites-of-passage-style, in _maternelle
_(pre-school) by youngsters naturally expanding their vocabulary. A _Connexion_ team member with an Anglo-French three-year-old at maternelle can vouch for this phenomenon, having endured
said period recently. It soon passes as the child’s vocabulary increases and they learn more ways to express themselves. _Caca boudin_ is pretty harmless – _caca _is French for ‘poo’ and
_boudin _is the blood sausage usually served up with mashed potato and pan-fried apples. Essentially, the child is saying ‘poo-poo’, much to their own amusement if not to their parents’. It
is not an offensive term and so the teachers or _assistantes maternelles_ (nursery assistants) might not tell the child off for saying it. When it comes to reprimands, the French have
various verbs. The most common of which is _gronder _– for example “_Il s’est fait gronder par ses parents_” (he got told off by his parents). Other verbs to use include _engueuler_,
_enguirlander _and _sermonner_. Like so many French words, _gronder _has other meanings – it can mean ‘to rumble’ (thunder) or ‘to growl’ (like a dog). RELATED STORIES: PÉTANTE, PILE: FRENCH
PHRASES TO HELP YOU SET PUNCTUAL TIMEKEEPING CONVIVERE, COUREURS À VÉLO: NEW FRENCH WORDS FOR OUR MODERN SOCIETY TU HABITES SUR PARIS? HOW TO USE FRENCH PREPOSITION ‘SUR’ CORRECTLY