French A-Level
French A-Level glossary
64 key terms for French A-Level, A to Z, each linked to the topic pages that use it.
C
- Clause
- A group of words containing a subject and a verb.Pearson Edexcel
- Cognate
- A word that looks similar and has the same meaning in both French and English (e.g., 'terrible' = terrible).Pearson Edexcel
- Contemporary Francophone Music and Linguistic Diversity
- Study of the evolution from 'la chanson française' to modern genres like Rap and Afrobeats, evaluating how artists navigate the 'Loi Toubon' and digital…AQA
F
- False Friend (Faux Ami)
- A word that looks similar to an English word but has a completely different meaning (e.g., 'blesser' = to injure, not to bless).Pearson Edexcel
- Focalisation
- The perspective or 'point of view' through which the narrative is filtered and presented to the audience.AQA
I
- Idiom
- A phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal translation of its words (e.g., 'avoir faim' literally means 'to have hunger', but translates as 'to…Pearson Edexcel
- Infinitive
- The unconjugated, 'dictionary' form of a verb, ending in -er, -ir, or -re (e.g., 'manger' = to eat).Pearson Edexcel
L
- L'absurde
- The conflict between the human search for meaning and the silent, meaningless universe.AQA
- L'antécédent
- The noun or pronoun to which a relative pronoun refers, determining the gender and number of the relative clause.AQA
- L'art comme outil de contestation
- Analysis of how music, cinema, and street art challenge institutional authority and advocate for social change, particularly during periods of civil unrest…Pearson Edexcel
- L'ascenseur social
- The concept of social mobility, often cited in debates regarding the failure of the French education system to provide equal opportunities for youths in the…Pearson Edexcel
- L'engagement citoyen et la jeunesse
- Evaluation of shifting patterns in political participation, moving from traditional electoral involvement to digital activism and issue-based campaigning…AQA
- L'Engagement Social et Politique
- Analysis of social movements, activism, and the evolution of civil rights within Francophone societies, focusing on the tension between state authority and…AQA
- L'évolution de la famille
- Analysis of the decline in traditional nuclear families and the rise of the Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS), 'familles recomposées', and single-parent…AQA
- L'exception culturelle and State Intervention
- Analysis of the French government's policy of treating culture as a non-commodity, necessitating subsidies and quotas (e.g., CNC funding) to protect domestic…AQA
- L'Héritage Colonial et la Francophonie
- Investigation into the historical impact of the French Empire and the modern diplomatic, cultural, and linguistic ties between France and former colonies.AQA
- L'Identité et l'Altérité
- The construction of the 'self' versus the 'other', focusing on how gender, ethnicity, and class determine one's position within the French Republic.Pearson Edexcel
- L'Identité et le Patrimoine
- Exploration of how regionalism, immigration, and linguistic heritage shape the contemporary French identity and the preservation of 'le patrimoine' in a…AQA
- L'influence de la Francophonie
- Exploration of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) in promoting linguistic diversity and political cooperation, and the role of…Pearson Edexcel
- L'inversion sujet-verbe
- Placing the subject after the verb, typically used in formal questions or after certain adverbs to elevate register.AQA
- La Collaboration
- State-sponsored cooperation with Nazi Germany, encompassing administrative, economic, and ideological alignment, exemplified by the Entrevue de Montoire and…Pearson Edexcel
- La concordance des temps
- The relationship between the tense of the main verb and the subordinate verb, essential for chronological clarity.AQA
- La culture de la contestation
- Examination of the historical and contemporary role of trade unions (syndicats) and grassroots movements in shaping public policy through strikes and street…AQA
- La cyber-société
- Investigation into the integration of digital technology in daily life, focusing on the 'fracture numérique' and the tension between increased connectivity…AQA
- La cyberintimidation / le cyberharcèlement
- Bullying or harassment using digital technologies.AQA
- La dépendance aux écrans
- Problematic or excessive reliance on screens.AQA
- La famille monoparentale
- A household in which one parent lives with one or more children.AQA
- La famille nucléaire
- A traditional family consisting of two married parents and their children.Pearson Edexcel
- La famille recomposée
- A blended or stepfamily, usually involving children from previous relationships.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- La Fracture Sociale
- Examination of systemic inequality, racial tension, and the marginalization of 'banlieue' populations in contemporary France, often explored through the lens…Pearson Edexcel
- La laïcité
- Secularism; the separation of church and state in France.Pearson Edexcel
- La PMA
- Procréation médicalement assistée: medically assisted reproduction.AQA
- La politique culturelle de l'État
- Evaluation of the 'Ministère de la Culture' and its impact on the democratization of art through subsidies, national festivals, and the decentralization of…Pearson Edexcel
- La Résistance
- The evolution from fragmented intelligence cells to a unified paramilitary and political force (CNR), driven by both internal (FFI) and external (France…Pearson Edexcel
- La semaine de 35 heures
- The legal 35-hour working week in France.Pearson Edexcel
- La Vie Quotidienne
- The impact of the Occupation on civilians, including 'le rationnement', the black market, and the psychological burden of the 'ligne de démarcation'.Pearson Edexcel
- Laïcité
- The principle of secularism in France, mandating the neutrality of the state and the absence of religious interference in government affairs.Pearson Edexcel
- Le baccalauréat (le bac)
- The national academic qualification taken at the end of secondary education.Pearson Edexcel
- Le bénévolat
- Unpaid voluntary work for a cause, group or community.AQA
- Le communautarisme
- A pejorative term in French discourse referring to the perceived threat of ethnic or religious groups prioritizing their own identity over national Republican…Pearson Edexcel
- Le concubinage
- Cohabitation by a couple without marriage or a PACS.AQA
- Le dénouement
- The final resolution of the strands of the plot in a literary or cinematic work.AQA
- Le Devoir de Mémoire
- The ethical obligation to remember and represent historical traumas, specifically the German Occupation, the Holocaust, and the Algerian War, and their impact…Pearson Edexcel
- Le droit de grève
- The right to strike, which is constitutionally protected in France.Pearson Edexcel
- Le gérondif
- A verb form ending in -ant, preceded by 'en', used to express simultaneity, cause, or manner.AQA
- Le Maghreb
- The region of Northwest Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) from which a significant portion of France's immigrant population originates.Pearson Edexcel
- Le mariage pour tous
- The 2013 law opening marriage to couples of the same sex.AQA
- Le PACS
- Pacte civil de solidarité: a legal civil partnership created in 1999.AQA, Pearson Edexcel
- Le PACS (Pacte civil de solidarité)
- A civil partnership introduced in 1999 offering legal rights to couples outside of marriage.Pearson Edexcel
- Le Patrimoine and National Identity
- Examination of how historical monuments and traditions are curated to maintain a sense of 'francité' while adapting to the demands of modern tourism and…AQA
- Le pouvoir exécutif et législatif
- Analysis of the dominance of the Presidency within the Fifth Republic and the constitutional relationship between the Elysée and the Matignon, particularly…AQA
- Le regroupement familial
- The 1974 policy allowing immigrant workers to bring their families to France, shifting immigration from temporary labor to permanent settlement.Pearson Edexcel
- Le rôle du bénévolat
- Examination of the 'secteur associatif' in France, assessing how voluntary work addresses social gaps and fosters 'la solidarité' in the face of economic…AQA
- Le SMIC
- Salaire Minimum Interprofessionnel de Croissance - the French minimum wage.Pearson Edexcel
- Les connecteurs logiques
- Words or phrases such as 'néanmoins' or 'par ailleurs' used to structure an argument and ensure cohesion.AQA
- Les grandes écoles
- Elite, highly selective higher education institutions, separate from standard universities.Pearson Edexcel
M
- Mise-en-scène
- The arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a film to convey meaning.AQA
- Morphosyntactic Precision
- The accurate application of inflectional morphology, including gender agreement, pluralization, and verbal conjugations, which forms the baseline for 'Quality…AQA
R
- Register and Stylistic Variation
- The selection of grammatical forms appropriate to the medium, such as the use of the passive voice in formal journalism versus the 'on' pronoun in informal…AQA
S
- S’engager
- To get involved or commit oneself to a cause.AQA
- Syntactic Complexity
- The shift from paratactic (simple) to hypotactic (complex) sentence structures through the use of subordination, relative clauses, and conjunctions to…AQA
T
- Tense
- The form of a verb that shows the time an action occurred (past, present, or future).Pearson Edexcel
U
- Une association
- A voluntary organisation or association, often charitable or community-based.AQA
V
- Verlan
- A type of French slang that inverts syllables, used to denote subcultural identity and resistance.AQA
Where these terms come from
Each definition is one we publish on a French A-Level topic page or study guide. Open a term to see how each exam board words it and which topic it belongs to. For the full course, go to French revision or the glossary for every subject.
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