parlez-vous
Can you converse?
Parlez-vous is French for "do you speak," borrowed into English as a playful or ironic way to ask about language ability or suggest foreignness: Parlez-vous français?
In casual use, it can mock pretentiousness or signal that something sounds like gibberish: I don't parlez-vous corporate jargon.
Request for information
- interrogativeAsking in nature
- askingPosing questions
- understandingMental comprehension of something
- clarificationMaking meaning plain
Native speaker of French
- francophiliaAffection for France
- ParisFrance's chief city
- croissantLayered crescent-shaped pastry
- baguetteElongated crusty loaf
Eiffel Tower · chanson · haute couture · Bordeaux · Provence · Versailles · Montmartre · Seine
Expression of welcome
- icebreakerTension-easing social activity
- phrasebookTravel language reference
- touristTraveler visiting attractions
- introductionPreliminary section or presentation
cliché · stock phrase · language barrier · traveler · conversation starter · first words · foreign language
question
Request for information
- interrogativeAsking in nature
- askingPosing questions
- understandingMental comprehension of something
francophone
Native speaker of French
- francophiliaAffection for France
- ParisFrance's chief city
- croissantLayered crescent-shaped pastry
baguette · Eiffel Tower · chanson · haute couture · Bordeaux · Provence · Versailles · Montmartre · Seine · Louvre
greeting
Expression of welcome
- icebreakerTension-easing social activity
- phrasebookTravel language reference
- touristTraveler visiting attractions
introduction · cliché · stock phrase · language barrier · traveler · conversation starter · first words · foreign language
parlez-vousstatement
Expressed claim or fact
declaration · assertion · affirmation · announcement · proclamation
parlez-voussilence
Total lack of sound
muteness · speechlessness · incomprehension · mute · language barrier
parley, parlance, parliament, parliamentary, parliamentarian, parlor, parlour