Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140Marine Room, Ocean Terrace and The Porch Live Music thursday, friday & saturday 5-7pm Dining noon - 9:30 pm 207-967-3331 thecolonyhotel.com 140 Ocean Ave, Kennebunkport, ME Oceanfront Lodging, Dining & Gatherings J u ly / A u g u s t 2016 101 L’Esprit de L’Escalier petalandmortar.com Across the Language Bridge Journey By Rhea Côté Robbins H ow might one traverse to the other side of a language barrier? With- out realizing it, you possess more languages than you are conscious of. Start reading French and you may get a sense of déjà vu. Like currency, over time words have been exchanged, borrowed, and stolen be- tween nations. Yesterday’s jargon becomes today’s word du jour. Bear this in mind and comprehending French is easy, like a ren- dezvous with an old friend. Study the words with patience, speak with abandon. Come as you are, in denim even. Adopt a foreign tongue with panache, and a certain je ne sais quoi. The absence of accents on English words gives no clue to their Gallic past. But rest assured, when you speak of seduction, suffering, or success, you speak in French. Mastering languages presents a challenge, to be sure, but why not take the plunge? Join the multitudes of millions of commu- nicative personages and realize you have ar- rived in an international community of lin- guists. There are over 80,000 French words borrowed by the English language, with- out realizing you are devouring them dai- ly, like madeleines, or macarons, baba au rhum, or béchamel sauce. Consider your in- nate Frenchness while at a matinee or mas- querade ball, or while getting a massage or reading a menu. Just try and master the cu- linary arts without using French. Or the art world, for that matter. Impossible! To express oneself not a student of French defies reason. The veritable truth, by the way: all italicized words in this article–over one-third–are of French derivation, much like Mainers, many of whom share French ancestry. n Rhea Côté Robbins is the author of ‘down the Plains.’