AP French Language and Culture flashcards
AP French Language and Culture · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- la famille recomposée
- A blended family formed when adults remarry or cohabit and bring children from prior relationships; step-siblings and step-parents are part of the household.
- le PACS
- The pacte civil de solidarité, a French civil partnership between two adults granting legal rights and obligations without marriage; widely used by unmarried couples.
- la famille monoparentale
- A single-parent household, where one adult raises one or more children without a partner present in the home.
- le bénévolat
- Unpaid volunteer work, typically organized through associations; distinct from salaried employment and central to French community life.
- association loi 1901
- A French nonprofit organization created under the 1901 law on associations; it may operate without seeking profit and is a common vehicle for community projects.
- la réserve héréditaire
- The portion of an estate French law reserves for direct heirs (children), limiting how much a person may freely bequeath to others.
- tu versus vous
- French second-person pronouns: tu is used with peers, family, and children; vous marks formality, respect, hierarchy, or refers to more than one person.
- le registre soutenu
- The formal register of French, used in literature, official writing, and ceremony; it uses complex syntax and avoids contractions and slang.
- la liaison
- The pronunciation link where a normally silent final consonant is sounded before a following vowel-initial word, as in les_amis; never after et.
- le passé simple
- A literary past tense marking completed actions in formal narrative; spoken French replaces it with the passé composé.
- la laïcité
- The French principle of state neutrality toward religion, rooted in the 1905 law separating churches and the state; it protects freedom of conscience in public institutions.
- le verlan
- A French slang formed by reversing syllables of words, used in informal speech; it signals familiarity and youth culture rather than formal usage.
- l'impressionnisme
- A 19th-century painting movement (Monet, Renoir, Degas) emphasizing light, color, and visible brushstrokes; named after Monet's Impression, soleil levant.
- la Nouvelle Vague
- A late-1950s French film movement (Truffaut, Godard) favoring location shooting, improvisation, and jump cuts over polished studio production.
- le neuvième art
- A French term for bande dessinée, or comics, ranked as the ninth art form alongside painting, sculpture, and cinema.
- le surréalisme
- An early-20th-century movement exploring dreams, the unconscious, and unexpected juxtapositions, represented in France by Breton, Dalí, and others.
- le mécénat
- Private financial patronage of artists and cultural institutions; in France it complements state funding of the arts through tax incentives.
- les Journées du patrimoine
- An annual September event when historic buildings and cultural sites across France open to the public, often free, to promote heritage awareness.
- la CNIL
- The French data-protection authority that enforces privacy law, including rules on personal data collection and the right to be forgotten.
- le développement durable
- Sustainable development: meeting present needs without compromising future generations, balancing economic, social, and environmental goals.
- les énergies renouvelables
- Renewable energy sources such as wind (éolien), solar, hydro, and biomass that replenish naturally and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
- le télétravail
- Remote work performed away from the employer's premises, usually from home, using digital tools; its legal framework was expanded in France.
- l'intelligence artificielle
- Artificial intelligence: computer systems performing tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as language processing, image recognition, and decision-making.
- si + imparfait + conditionnel
- A French hypothesis pattern expressing an unreal present situation: si + imperfect in the if-clause, conditional present in the result clause.
- le SMIC
- The salaire minimum interprofessionnel de croissance, France's legal minimum wage, adjusted periodically and tied to inflation and purchasing power.
- le CDI
- The contrat à durée indéterminée, an open-ended employment contract with no fixed end date; the standard form of French employment.
- le covoiturage
- Carpooling: sharing a private car journey among several people, often arranged through apps, to split costs and reduce emissions.
- Parcoursup
- The French national online platform through which high-school graduates apply to higher-education programs, which rank and admit candidates.
- le gaspillage alimentaire
- Food waste: edible food discarded along the supply chain or by consumers; French policy targets reduction through retail and school-canteen rules.
- depuis versus il y a
- depuis + present marks an action still ongoing (Je travaille ici depuis deux ans); il y a + past marks a point in the past (Il y a deux ans).
- l'OIF
- The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, a body of member states promoting the French language, cultural diversity, and cooperation.
- la mondialisation
- Globalization: the growing interconnection of economies, cultures, and communications worldwide, often debated for its benefits and its costs.