Americans truly like French things. It is well established. People like cooking French, dressing French, and making fun of French (that last one is perhaps due to jealousy).
Because of this, anything that has the word “French” in it seems to be quite popular. America has French fries, French bulldogs, and French kissing. Certainly, the US tried to change them to “freedom fries” when France opposed the US entry into the Iraq War, but history will perhaps take France’s side on that debate.
So there is curiosity regarding the phenomenon. Are those things truly French? Let us find out in the blog from Hello Hello Language on Go top French language learning app.
French Horn
The French horn, a quite round brass instrument, was invented in Germany. No one is quite certain why it is called the French horn, and for that reason, the International Horn Society has suggested simply calling it a “horn,” even though that may be even more confusing. But also, it is kind of strange there is an International Horn Society at all.
Decision: Not French, the French call it Cor.
French Dressing
French dressing is vaguely formed on the French vinaigrette, but it was invented in the US during the 1950s. It might have been inspired by French cooking, or at least it was an effort to latch on to the French food trends of the mid-20th century.
Decision: Not French, Vinaigrette is the word the French call it.
French Vanilla
Vanilla beans are harvested from several countries globally, but none of those countries is France. The difference between French vanilla and regular vanilla is that egg yolks are used in French vanilla, which provides it with that yellowish color. The classic French method to make ice cream included an egg custard base, which gives solid evidence that France is probably the first maker of this food. Like French fries, this food could be traced back to Thomas Jefferson, who brought the recipe with him to the US post his ambassadorship to France.
Decision: French, Vanille is the word the French call it.
French Braid
During the 19th century, anything that was “French” and linked to fashion was quite popular. The real history of the French braid goes back much, much further before the 19th century, having been traced around 6,000 years to northern Africa. It appears to exist in almost every culture globally. Yet, the phrase “French braid” was quite popularized as a “new trend” in women’s magazines during the 1800s and the erroneous name has remained.
Decision: Not French, the French call it Tresse Française.
French Door
French doors are doors having windows in them, and the French word for them, porte-fenêtre, literally translates as “door-window.” They date back to the time of a war between France and Italy during the late 16th century. After the French won, they took Italian Renaissance art back to their country. With the novel architectural influences, French doors started to appear. Technically, they are “Italian-influenced,” so you can make the case that they are not completely French. But they were hugely, used in France, and that is good enough for us.