Is French still the language of love?

There are so many ways to express love in French that it’s easy to make faux pas. My faux pas over the five decades I’ve been speaking French are legend – at least in the family. Best to keep them there.

Most people know that ‘Je vous aime’ means ‘I love you’ and covers one or more people. If you say ‘Je t’aime’, the informal expression of love for one person, you’ve got to be careful. Especially in today’s world where ‘hooking up’ is more common than rabbits breeding. 

We speak a lot of Franglais in our family – we’re creative and lazy when it comes to language. With bilingual grandchildren it’s inevitable. A few years back, one grandson came up with ‘On y go’ for ‘Allons-y’. We all prefer his version. When the same grandson (age nine) recently showed more than a passing fancy in a pretty school mate (normally une petite amie), his six-year-old sister spilled the beans to me about his amoureuse. The