Letter Hats

Letter Hats

Culture is unusual. People in other countries might look the same, but they do things you wouldn’t expect. Like a stop sign I saw with ARRET on it, but with a little hat on the “e”.

I asked Camden, the neighborhood Google.

“History,” he said. “They started dropping the “s” from words and put a hat there so you’d know. It’s like ‘arrest’. When the cops arrest you, they stop you.”

That was true.

Still, when I was caught robbing a bank in Paris a year later, I was disappointed no one shouted, “You’re under arrêt!”

Unûual, I tell you.

16 Comments Add yours

  1. Forestwood says:

    Haha – good one! I was trying to figure out a story to use the given language but only came up with the English version.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Glad you liked it. The fun thing about Friday Fictioneers is seeing all the different directions people go in.

      Like

      1. Forestwood says:

        I do agree although I do find it hard to come up with ideas I haven’t used before.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. James McEwan says:

    There is just no respect for history or culture these days as tradition falls by the way side. Even bank robbers have dignity.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, there are certain protocols you have to follow. Seriously. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  3. neilmacdon says:

    Foreigners, huh!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Dear David,

    Quirky little play on words there. Love it. Hope you’re getting a bit of a respite in your busy summer. I totally understand. Mine has been a wild ride and, most weeks, I’m hanging onto Friday Fictioneers by a sender thread. I’m always happy to see you on the squares.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I don’t know if it’s much better, but sometimes you just have to take a break and catch a quick breath. Have a great week!

      Like

  5. Bill says:

    Interesting, David.
    To this day, pronouncing the name of my home town is confusing because the French acute accent was removed by the Post Office. Diacritical marks are important in correctly pronouncing many foreign words that have migrated into the English language.
    Fun story.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. yeah, unlike the circumflex, the acute accent does have a much bigger impact on pronunciation. I work with a lot of Vietnamese and they have tons of diacritical marks that just get stripped off since we have no way of writing them. I’m sure it makes a big difference for them though. Thanks for reading.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. msjadeli says:

    Word hats, good name for them. I bet you had fun writing this one.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, I like languages anyway, so it’s always fun to work in foreign languages into things. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  7. msjadeli says:

    word = letter

    Like

  8. authorfleurl says:

    The thing I love about FrFic is how different every story is. And I’d love a friend who was a neighbourhood google! I refer to google a LOT! Fun story, well done!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks! Glad you liked it. Yes, lots of variety every week in our group. 🙂

      Like

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