Hop-là!

I love the sound of French. It's full of smooth consonants linking words and harsh consonants to add the zing. I like hearing the emphasis on the ends of words, and the sentences that rise and fall as unexpectedly as comes and goes the rain in Nantes (very).

I've also been finding that French is full of onomatopoeias and other funny sounds. My favorite is the ubiquitous Hop-là! (pronounced "ope-la," with a pause before the "la," making sure that the "ope" is a higher pitch than the "la"), which, like the Italians' Prego!, can be used in a number of different situations.

Situation 1: Almost hitting people.
I was helping my host mother, Dany, clear the table after dinner one night. She was coming into the kitchen carrying some dishes and I pushed the door open, not realizing that she was behind it. I narrowly avoided hitting her, breaking the dishes, and forever damaging French-American relations. Her response was a cheerful Hop-là!

Situation 2: Throwing things.
The trash dispenser in the Aubineau's kitchen is absolute genius. There is an opening in the counter with a top that looks like the top of a pot. The opening is connected to a pipe/tube (I don't know which) that runs down into the garage, where they keep the trash can. When Dany is cooking dinner she tosses things into the opening from across the kitchen. Each toss, whether or not it is successful, is accompanied by an Hop-là!

Situation 3: Putting things down.
This is similar to the previous situation, but more focused on presentation. Dany always brings out some Hop-là! with the bread, as a way of saying, "Look, here is the bread! I brought it from the kitchen to the dining room, and now I'm putting it down on the table. "

So you can see that Hop-là a versatile little guy.

Another fun one is toc-toc-toc! Dany says this when she accidentally drops something or is simulating knocking on a door, window, table, or anything else that would emit this unique sound when knocked on. These surfaces seem to come up frequently in French conversations. Perhaps it is so that the speaker can make the toc-toc-toc noise.

Americans say "uh" or "um" to stall/reflect, and the French instead use the elongated versions: "eeeuuuhhh" and "beeeuuuhhh." Both sounds are accompanied by raised shoulders and rapid hand motions, usually circular or horizontal.

I don't mean to poke fun -- I find French extremely beautiful and more precise than English. I suppose it just makes me feel better to think that even the sophisticated French take a little Hop-là with their coffee.