- sign in Costco parking lot, Ottawa

 

The National Capital Region is rife with “Frenglish” or “Franglais” as has already been described in these pages.  What the well-meaning sign maker was trying to do was thank shoppers for their cooperation in returning carts to the fenced-in collection points.

Given the local environment it’s almost impossible not to mix the languages. I’ve found myself saying that, yes, I will “assist” that meeting – meaning attend. Assister is the French.

As the title above indicates, one can imagine similar signs in Vichy or Paris during the early 1940s…