The list of famous British Muslims is very long; Britain has a long history of close relationships with both Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries : Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Aden etc. So it's no  surprise that today 1.8 million Muslims are living in U.K.

We all know of Sadiq Khan, London's new mayor. Other celebrities include Iqbal Sacranie, the secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain; Zaki Badawi who, as chairman of the Muslim Law (Sharia) Council UK, has issued a statement condemning  terrorism as contrary to Islam. Waheed Alli, a famous businessman, has become a Lord (Baron Alli of Norbury in the London Borough of Croydon); Sarwar Ahmed, newspaper publisher (Asian Times) ; Sir Anwar Pervez, a businessman and Britain's richest Muslim ; Shami Ahmed, businessman (Joe Bloggs jeans); Lady Pola Uddin, Labour peer ; Naseem Hamed, boxer ; and so many others.

Wikipedia has issued a longer list : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_Muslims

WHEN WILL IT ALL STOP ?

Dear London friends, dear Londoners,

You are a marvellous people, everyone is hard put to be more welcoming than you are, and yet, once again, blind terror has struck. We know it won't have the last word but still ... . Today we mourn your dead like you did ours. You've said it : love will overcome. One day.

Thousands Gather For Vigil To Remember Westminster Terror Attack Victims (170323) Credit : The Guardian

You were born after 1980 and have your own "dialect". Same in the U.S. So if you hear one of the following words, you've got a chance to be talking to a "millennial":

- adulting is the new word for growing up (less dramatic, I suppose !)

- bigly is a synonym both of large and largely ; originally a mediaeval word, it's been revived recently by ... millennials  !

- cool is what you like (you also say "phat" or "hip"; Fr. génial)

- For "refiler, vendre" you often hear "to flog" these days ...

- gaslighting initially refers to scare tactics (like when you move a gaslighter close to someone's face to make them speak out); now a trendy word for intimidating.

- Phats are simply any members of the opposite sex (from Pretty Hot And Tempting; Fr. canon, bombe)

- rad is really cool (Fr. génial, chanmé)

- savage is neither wild nor uncivilized. Simply a synonym of daring, willing to take a risk.

- a scrub may sound disgusting to conservative English speakers' ears ! Originally it's a gamers' term to describe an unqualified beginner (= newbie / Fr. novice, blaireau) now someone who does things badly.

- it sucks means you don't like it at all (Fr. "c'est nul")

- careful with "tight" it has so many different meanings, even among millennials : a synonym of cool, hip, fashionable, it also translates "serré (for jeans), radin"; and, particularly in NYC, it means "mad, irritated" ("made me tight, il m'a foutu en rogne").

- Word is a typical millennial equivalent to 'Yes' ("Will you be round here this afternoon ? - Word")

Lucky millennials, who won't be older than 37 this year ... Happy birthday to you all !

Credits : Many thanks to John Brandon, Contributing editor, Inc.com  

 

 

Beware ! The following words are used in French too, but with a different, sometimes very different, meaning:

- A drawing-room is not "une salle de dessin". It is a room where gentlemen withdraw (se retirent) to smoke without disturbing the ladies. It's often translated as "salon".

- "jeans" : in French you say "porter un jean / un blue-jean" ! in English jeans are any sort of trousers ; denim jeans only are what you call "un jean".

- when you say "low-cost" in French, you mean it won't be expensive. It's not wrong, but in English, it means the company saves as much as they can (like few staff-members, no free meals or drinks on board your plane etc.)

- millennials in USA does not refer to the young people born around the year 2000; millennials were born after 1980 and were +/- 20 round the Millenium. They're called "génération Y" in France. See one of their blogs : http://www.theconfusedmillennial.com/2016225whats-a-millennial/

- with "mini", native speakers of English immediately visualize a miniskirt (minijupe) or a very small computer (mini-ordinateur); for the French, it's a car ...

- moonshot is used in French ; it's a brand-name for un serveur informatique ; but in English, it's "le lancement d'une fusée vers la lune"; so "it's a moonshot" would be "décrocher la lune"

- politically correct has no suggestion that you don't say the truth ! Initially, the idea is that you use words that are in accordance with an official Code for describing communities in non-pejorative terms : for instance, saying African-American instead of "black" or Caucasian instead of "white". Of course, in America like in Europe excess in this kind of practice has led to identifying political correctness to hypocrisy.

- a "power couple" is un ménage au pouvoir, like the Clintons (some time ago); nothing to do with couple puissant or electric devices ...

-"un smoking" in French is a smart suit. Now this, in English, refers to a dinner jacket if you're British, or a tuxedo (= a tux) if you're American. Smoking just means "fumer".

-"un talk" is what English speakers call a talk-show (débat télévisé); a talk, in English, is "un parler, des paroles"

- the French "ticket de caisse" is a receipt. Never say ticket except if you mean un billet (de transports / de spectacles) or une contravention (a parking ticket)!

- European (and French) weeks begin on Mondays. Traditionally in the U.K., Sundays start the new week, though the Euro-continental rhythm applies more and more. But it is still true of North America. So the week-end over there is Saturday, not Saturday and Sunday.

Classified crossings (Fr. passages pour piétons):

- zebra crossing : passage piétons traditionnel, la chaussée est zébrée de bandes de peinture blanche (ou jaune); parfois encore appelé "passage clouté" en français;

- pelican crossing : passage décalé, avec un refuge au milieu de la chaussée; souvent accompagné d'une commande presse-bouton;

- puffin-crossing : le sol du trottoir est muni de capteurs pour détecter si des piétons attendent; les panneaux lumineux sont à côté du piéton et non de l'autre côté de la chaussée.

- toucan-crossing (= two can) la traversée est autorisée aux piétons et aux cyclistes.