Franponais
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franponais (a portmanteau of French and Japanese, using the French forms français and japonais), is known for its misuse of French words or phrases in Japan. Along with the term franponais, one may see "framponais", "flançais" or "flanponais", which makes a reference to the stereotypical confusion of L and R in Japanese English (see Engrish).
In Japan, not unlike in the English-speaking world, it is seen as stylish to use French words in areas related to France and French high culture, like fashion, cuisine, hairstyles, or pastry. French appears most frequently on signs at stores, on t-shirts, on menus, and other places where franponais can be used to make a product seem more of a high culture item than a mass culture item.
Because very few Japanese people can speak French fluently, these mistakes which could be seen as nonsense by native French speakers are frequently overlooked, and these words and phrases end up becoming a part of a new sort of language, Franponais. It uses French words, but with many spelling errors and grammatical faults. In many cases, phrases in Franponais seem to have been translated word-for-word from one language to the other. One can easily claim that it is negligence on the part of manufacturers, but one should keep in mind that the target audience of these words and phrases is Japanese, not Francophone.
Even though Franponais is at first shocking to French-speaking tourists, it quickly becomes a fun experience to spot words and phrases in Franponais. It also leaves a charming impression of Japan and its people on Francophone tourists.
[edit] See also
- Engrish - A mix of Japanese and English
- Franglais - A mix of French and English
- Code-switching - General occurrence of mixing languages
[edit] External links
- (French) Site de Florent Gorges : Contains a humorous article on "Franponais".
- (French) Le franponais.com : Contains many examples of "Franponais" from Japan.
