Re: USAGE: Pop, smearcase, kolaches

Nik Taylor wrote:
>
> Jeffrey Henning wrote:
> > I didn't realize "supper" was dialectal, but now that I think about it my
> > wife calls it "dinner" and I think of it as "supper", but when I look it up
> > in the dictionary it doesn't have the meaning I thought it would:
>
> Speaking of dinner: when is dinner for y'all?
>
        French has two main dialects in this respect:

For me, there are:
break-fast: petit-de'jeuner
lunch: de'jeuner
dinner: diner

I also sometimes take a snack around 4 pm, it is called "gou^ter" and
generally only children have it. Sometimes parents have tea or coffee at
that time.

The other dialect, which is for me a little old, because generally only
old people talk like that, has:
breakfast: de'jeuner
lunch: diner
dinner: souper (gave the word "supper")

        I think my way of designating the different meals is recent (maybe two
generations) and derived from the older one. Funny, when I was little I
thought that "souper" was a special meal after dinner, for people still
up around 10 pm that were still awake. They generally then took a soup
("soupe" in French), hence the name. I don't know where this idea comes
from because I never saw that anywhere and it was certainly not done in
my family.

--
        Christophe Grandsire

        Philips Research Laboratories --  Building WB 145
        Prof. Holstlaan 4
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        Phone:  +31-40-27-45006
        E-mail: grandsir@natlab.research.philips.com