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I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
@spookiemoviemania

and @other_Aussies



I don't know any Australian politician except Pauline Hanson. I cannot say I really know her though: I came across videos and articles about her performances against Muslims and Islam. Has she been vainly trying to catch attention? What's Hanson's actual influence in Australian politics (and potentially elsewhere)?





@anton.I don't know any Australian politician except Pauline Hanson. I cannot say I really know her though: I came across videos and articles about her performances against Muslims and Islam. Has she been vainly trying to catch attention? What's Hanson's actual influence in Australian politics (and potentially elsewhere)?


Hanson is what Americans call a "red neck". She tries to lure people to her beliefs with racist and bigoted remarks. First it was the influx of Asian migrants some 20/25 years ago. Now she is on the Muslim bandwagon. To be brutally honest many Australians are now anti- Muslim given the way those murderous IS have acted.

The clip is when Hanson tried to draw attention to the Parliament how the wearing of the full Burqa presents a possible danger to the public as that person could have been a terrorrist with bombs strapped to her body. She has called for the complete ban of the burqa in public places. She has a point. There should be a vote on the issue.



I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
@spookiemoviemania


Covering one's own face in the French public space has been banned since 2010. That mostly concerns burqas and some demonstrators.






She is what we Aussies call a semi literate yob. How she ever remained in politics this long is a mystery. Unfortunately with our Parliamentary system these minority parties such as Hanson's One Nation hold the Balance of Power in Parliament even tho they only garnered a fraction of the votes of the major parties.. I guess that is a bi-product our democratic system.



I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
@spookiemoviemania and the other Aussies:


What's your opinion of the current Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison?





@anton: What's your opinion of the current Prime Minister of Australia, Scott Morrison?

Personally I like him. He hails from the same part of Sydney as I. Is down to earth.. He has already introduced some new ideas which should be popular with the electorate.If anyone can repair the damage done by the recent overthrow of Turnball it is Sco Mo.. as the media calls him.



Anton you appear interested in my country. I wanna return the compliment. There are several things I like about your country. Your wines, your cars and your sugar free biscuits (cookies) and conserves (jams). I was diagnosed borderline Diabetes 2 two years ago so I immediately ditched white sugar. Having been born with a 'sweet tooth' I had to find alternatives.. I found natural plant sweetenener Stevia to put in my tea & coffee and French made Guillon sugar free biscuits to dunk in my tea & coffee. Also Australian-produced IXL Stevia -sweetened jams plus French St. Dalfour no added sugar jams.. thanks to these two items from your country I am able to keep my blood sugar level in check and still enjoy some sweetness in my diet.

@anton.



I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
@spookiemoviemania


France and Australia have good relations with each other:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austra...ance_relations


You see, I have a restricted view on the countries abroad I may go to. I focus on main English-speaking countries such as the USA, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.


More or less English-speaking countries in the world:


I went to England twice (London then Somerset). I might fly to the USA this coming winter or maybe the following one at a friend's place (San Francisco area). I might fly to Oz and NZ within the next few years.



The legacy of Australian involvement on French soil in the First and Second World Wars plays an important role in the bilateral relationship. Over 45,000 Australians lost their lives on French soil in the two conflicts. Each year many Australians travel to the Western Front to commemorate the thousands of Australians who were killed and injured there in World War I.


@anton: This is one of the main reasons why France and Australia are good friends. Having said that Oz is friends with almost all developed countries.. regardless of what language they speak. We evidently have very good diplomats to ensure that is the case. I believe a major reason for these friendships is the reputation Australia has for being a multi.. cultural/national society. Plus unlike some of the major powers, we avoid stepping on any country's toes.



@anton. How do I pronounce the name Philippe.. Is it Philipay or Philippee?
If it’s Philippe without an accent, it’s pronounced Phil-leep. If it’s Philippé, it’s pronounced Phil-lip-pay. Though I think the name is always Philippe sans accent.
__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.



He is an Aussie cricketer. His name is Philippe.. obviously French derivation. The drongo commentators were tossing up whether to pronouce him one of either the two above. I see no é in his name. So you say simply Phil-leep. May have been easier for the commentators to ask the man himself.



I read in our morning paper that French and Australian navies are planning on joint sea patrols/exercises in the South China Sea. Your views?



I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
He is an Aussie cricketer. His name is Philippe.. obviously French derivation. The drongo commentators were tossing up whether to pronouce him one of either the two above. I see no é in his name. So you say simply Phil-leep. May have been easier for the commentators to ask the man himself.


I wish to add a few words.


Let’s focus on the part of France on the European continent*. There mainly are two ways to pronounce ‘Philippe’ here:


- Northern half of France* : /filip/
That’s the « standard » way to say it according to our dictionaries.
Two short syllables ; no stressed syllables ; the final written "e" being silent.
You can listen to it here : https://fr.forvo.com/word/philippe_geluck/

According to wordreference.com, the English "Philip" is said /ˈfɪlɪp/ but is stressed on the first syllable and pronounced with different vowels. The English "ɪ" does not sound like a French "i", which sounds close to the short version of a long English "ee".

In the northern half of continental France*, we tend to reduce the number of syllables of a word whenever it’s possible (which implies the very common use here of silent French "e"s). Our national French dictionaries take that usage as reference most of the time.


- Southern half of France* : /filipə/
Three syllables. That’s typical of the South : they tend to pronounce all the written syllables of each French word (unlike the North).

"ə" is called a ‘schwa’ in phonetics. It’s the vowel you generate at your laziest, sort of :


It sounds a bit like this https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/Philippe#Prononciation
Occitan (as mentionned in that wiktionary page) is a French region of the South. I would have expected a more audible third syllable /pə/ there. Anyway, you get it : 3 syllables for the South.


- Both ways are valid but the North’s* tends to get used as national reference for the French language of France. It’s the accent we mostly hear on national TV news, national radio stations and so on. To me, it sounds like the "reference French".



So you say simply Phil-leep. May have been easier for the commentators to ask the man himself.
Definitely. If he were a British man with that name, I would say Phil-leep.




I wish to add a few words.


Let’s focus on the part of France on the European continent*. There mainly are two ways to pronounce ‘Philippe’ here:


- Northern half of France* : /filip/
That’s the « standard » way to say it according to our dictionaries.
Two short syllables ; no stressed syllables ; the final written "e" being silent.
You can listen to it here : https://fr.forvo.com/word/philippe_geluck/

According to wordreference.com, the English "Philip" is said /ˈfɪlɪp/ but is stressed on the first syllable and pronounced with different vowels. The English "ɪ" does not sound like a French "i", which sounds close to the short version of a long English "ee".

In the northern half of continental France*, we tend to reduce the number of syllables of a word whenever it’s possible (which implies the very common use here of silent French "e"s). Our national French dictionaries take that usage as reference most of the time.


- Southern half of France* : /filipə/
Three syllables. That’s typical of the South : they tend to pronounce all the written syllables of each French word (unlike the North).

"ə" is called a ‘schwa’ in phonetics. It’s the vowel you generate at your laziest, sort of :


It sounds a bit like this https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/Philippe#Prononciation
Occitan (as mentionned in that wiktionary page) is a French region of the South. I would have expected a more audible third syllable /pə/ there. Anyway, you get it : 3 syllables for the South.


- Both ways are valid but the North’s* tends to get used as national reference for the French language of France. It’s the accent we mostly hear on national TV news, national radio stations and so on. To me, it sounds like the "reference French".
You went to too much trouble anton.



I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
You went to too much trouble anton.


I wrote it all for myself first and I enjoyed it.



I hope you will meet a French Philippe some day and properly pronounce his name "the French way".



I'm Anthony, a Frenchman in France.
I read in our morning paper that French and Australian navies are planning on joint sea patrols/exercises in the South China Sea. Your views?

I have no view right now: I haven't heard of that piece of news.


I'm googling now. There you go:


https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nat...9c35b4726cc719


"The Australian Navy is set to conduct naval exercises alongside France and other countries in the South China Sea, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has said.

Mr Pyne made the suggestion alongside French Defence Minister Florence Parly who is visiting Australia to discuss difficulties with the Future Submarine Project contract.


Mr Pyne said Australia had increased the “pace of navigations” through the South China Sea and said the two countries were likely to work together on a future multilateral operation.


“In terms of the South China Sea, both Australia and France share a common view, which is that the South China Sea is international waters and that we are entitled to navigate as we see fit, and through the norm practice of any country, navigating through the South China Sea,” Mr Pyne said.


“We are looking forward to doing so with France in coming years, in terms of a group working together in one particular formation that is multi-flagged,” he said.


Ms Parly was asked whether France and Australia would join the US and other nations on a multi-flag operation through the contested waters.


“That’s a very good question and it’s also one of the common concerns we have together,” she responded.


“One of our topics for discussion – how we could together, better co-ordinate, what we’re doing in the South China Sea because we are very conscious that China is more and more receptive.”
“We want to [ensure] that China sticks to the international rules, but we remain very open to dialogue.”


In June, France revealed it was stepping up its military presence in the Asia Pacific, conducting air exercises and sending warships through the South China Sea.


In May, Paris sent their Dixmude ship and a frigate through the disputed Spratly Islands and other island Beijing claims in the sea.
While Australia sails and flies through the South China Sea, it does not take the same approach as the US Navy of sailing close to China’s artificial islands to enforce the international court ruling against the legitimacy of Beijing’s nine dash line over the waters.
Mr Pyne did not suggest there would be any change to this policy."


Well, there's the USA's powerful shadow showing through that article. It's not just about two small countries "showing muscles" to big China.
This world is unstable.



No firm commitment to those joint patrols by our two countries. The Tele has evidently jumped the gun. You are so correct about an unstable world. Will continue this tomorrow. Good nite anton.

We in the West should be very worried about the strengthening ties between China and Russia. Also about the way America under Trump is alientating his traditional allies.

That is not to say I am against Trump's protectionism policies.

Up until the 1970s Australia manufactured virtually everything we needed for our economy. Then along came those pushing for free trade.

With it came the lifting of tarriffs on imported goods and the floodgates opened.. resulting in the loss of flourishing Australian manufacturing. Suddenly for instance.. our huge household appliance industry was competing against cheaper to buy and cheaper quality imports.

Within a decade we were importing as much as we were making. Within two decades imports had doubled.


Today virtually everything, other than food, pharmaceuticals and a handful of other industries, is imported and our manufacturing industry is down to almost zero production.

In the last year we have ceased making motor vehicles in this country. That was pretty much the last straw.

This makes we Australians very angry!!