English US » French | 46 [forty-six] | In the discotheque

46 [quarante-six] A la discothèque

Is this seat taken?	Est-ce que cette place est libre ?
May I sit with you?	Puis-je m’asseoir à côté de vous ?
Sure.	Je vous en prie.
How do you like the music?	Comment trouvez-vous la musique ?
A little too loud.	Un peu trop forte.
But the band plays very well.	Mais le groupe joue très bien.
Do you come here often?	Venez-vous souvent ici ?
No, this is the first time.	Non, c’est la première fois.
I’ve never been here before.	Je n’y étais encore jamais venue.
Would you like to dance?	Voulez-vous danser ?
Maybe later.	Plus tard, peut-être.
I can’t dance very well.	Je ne sais pas très bien danser.
It’s very easy.	C’est très simple.
I’ll show you.	Je vous montrerai.
No, maybe some other time.	Non, plutôt une autre fois.
Are you waiting for someone?	Est-ce que vous attendez quelqu’un ?
Yes, for my boyfriend.	Oui, mon ami.
There he is!	Il arrive juste derrière nous !

The language of pictures

A German saying goes: A picture says more than a thousand words. That means that pictures are often understood faster than speech. Pictures can also convey emotions better. Because of this, advertising uses a lot of pictures. Pictures function differently than speech. They show us several things simultaneously and in their totality. That means that the whole image together has a certain effect. With speech, considerably more words are needed. But images and speech go together. We need speech in order to describe a picture. By the same token, many texts are first understood through images. The relationship between images and speech is being studied by linguists. It also raises the question whether pictures are a language in their own right. If something is only filmed, we can look at the images. But the message of the film isn't concrete. If an image is meant to function as speech, it must be concrete. The less it shows, the clearer its message. Pictograms are a good example of this. Pictograms are simple and clear pictorial symbols. They replace verbal language, and as such are a form of visual communication. Everyone knows the pictogram for "no smoking" for example. It shows a cigarette with a line through it. Images are becoming even more important due to globalization. But you also have to study the language of images. It is not understandable worldwide, even though many think so. Because our culture influences our understanding of images. What we see is dependent on many different factors. So some people don't see cigarettes, but only dark lines.