How to Learn English If You Are French
In a French bookshop I came across a text book for primary-school children which was supposed to teach them English.
It thought that the following “traditional English rhyme” was what they needed to get a firm grasp on the English language.
Spring is showery, flowery, bowery
Summer is hoppy, croppy, poppy
Autumn is slippy, drippy, nippy
Winter is breezy, sneezy, freezy
Traditional English rhyme eh? Anyone ever heard it before? Thought not. Come on, they just made it up. Even English children would have problems with some of these: what does “bowery” mean? Appertaining to bowers, methinks, and most necessary for all visitors to Britain to know.
What does “hoppy” mean in this context? Nothing to do with jumping things such as frogs (oh yes, ha ha) but more to do with the hops which are used in the production of alcoholic beverages, I think.
“Croppy” - - well, producing lots of crops I suppose.
and “poppy” is just confusing in this context
The whole of Great Britain will be full of French children on school trips saying “Zee countryside eez vairy croppy zees summer and eet eez vairy poppy too.”
And full of British children saying “Yerwha’? Am I bovvered? Piss off, you Frog moron.”
Britain is pretty shitty. Pity.
It thought that the following “traditional English rhyme” was what they needed to get a firm grasp on the English language.
Spring is showery, flowery, bowery
Summer is hoppy, croppy, poppy
Autumn is slippy, drippy, nippy
Winter is breezy, sneezy, freezy
Traditional English rhyme eh? Anyone ever heard it before? Thought not. Come on, they just made it up. Even English children would have problems with some of these: what does “bowery” mean? Appertaining to bowers, methinks, and most necessary for all visitors to Britain to know.
What does “hoppy” mean in this context? Nothing to do with jumping things such as frogs (oh yes, ha ha) but more to do with the hops which are used in the production of alcoholic beverages, I think.
“Croppy” - - well, producing lots of crops I suppose.
and “poppy” is just confusing in this context
The whole of Great Britain will be full of French children on school trips saying “Zee countryside eez vairy croppy zees summer and eet eez vairy poppy too.”
And full of British children saying “Yerwha’? Am I bovvered? Piss off, you Frog moron.”
Britain is pretty shitty. Pity.
posted by Daphne at 12:38 am
2 Comments:
I remember this poem from my schooldays. Apparently it's related to the French Republican calendar, later abandoned:
http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060918120413AAApwUg&show=7
snowy flowy blowy
showery flowery bowery
hoppy croppy *droppy*
breezy sneezy freezy
... months of the year, starting in January.
It could be one of Dawthy's - I think it's in the book of quotations.
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