Society and politics

What holds these lists together

The lists for the words a society uses to talk about itself: in the news, in the debate on migration, in a club, in the question of who can get into a building at all. They belong together because you learn them not in conversation but from what is broadcast and printed, where they arrive thick and fast. And almost every word carries a political meaning beside the literal one. Un député is a Member of Parliament, not anybody’s deputy. La laïcité is usually rendered «secularism», but it names a French legal principle — the strict neutrality of the state towards religion — and a report that translates it loosely misses the argument.

For example: l’asile (asylum), le gros titre (the headline), l’exécutif (the executive), sans obstacle (barrier-free), le volontaire (the volunteer), l’assemblée des fidèles (the congregation)

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.