As I already discussed in the first part of this writing, Beninese French is often used in a different way than European French. Here are some more useful tips for visitors of Villa Karo and Benin.
As words such as “bonsoir” sometimes find new meanings, expressions may also take new forms. That is the case of the exclamation “doucement!”. Literally this means “gently”, but the expression translates perhaps best into “behave yourself“ or “be more careful” in English. Whilst in … Lue lisää
La Francophonie, the community of French speaking people, is worldwide. French takes different forms all over the globe as over 250 million people speak it as either first or second language. For those of us who have learned to speak French in Europe, the Beninese version of the language has some interesting elements. Let’s take a look at the French spoken in Grand-Popo’s streets.
Although I suppose that “bonjour” is probably the most well-known French word in the world, … Lue lisää
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO) visited Villa Karo in 2009 to honour the 10th anniversary of the centre by playing a concert for the people of Grand-Popo. The concert was held on the stage of Lissa Gbassa, VK’s exhibition and concert building, by the beach of Grand-Popo. RSO’s eventful trip became the subject of a documentary film (Afrikan sinfonia, directed by Jenni Nyberg, YLE productions).
Also meet the dancing and singing children of Grand-Popo as well as Noël Zaïzonou, … Lue lisää