Typo or not, c’est pas grave !

Après-ski

It’s still a bit warm here in the San Francisco Bay Area (in fact, as of this writing, we’re in the middle of a heatwave), but I can’t wait for sweater-weather wintertime to go ice skating or play in the snow, and maybe even hit the bunny slopes. Then after skiing, or après-ski, I could take part in some relaxing activities, like sitting under a blanket in front of a fire pit while sipping a warm beverage and nibbling on savory appetizers!

When I first saw this comfy-looking two-piece loungewear set, I thought, “It looks so soft and cozy!”

But wait – a word is misspelled! The accent mark on the “e” on the sweater is incorrect. It’s got an accent aigu (é) instead of an accent grave (è).

I wonder if it’s intentional, as if to mock the uptalk way that we Californians are known to speak: “like, OMG, dude, let’s, like, ap-RAY ski?”

Or perhaps it was simply a typo? After all, French grammar rules, including those accent marks, can be très challenging for us non-native speakers. I learned French in high school and college and I’m still learning. I like to double check my accent marks, verb conjugation, and spelling, just in case, or au cas où (another word that needs the accent grave on the “u” otherwise it would mean “or.”)

Ah, but I’m getting into the weeds here. I can’t help it – I was editor of my high school newspaper and proofreader of my college newspaper.

Aprés or après? Typo or not, it’s no big deal. Or, as the French say, c’est pas grave ! 😉

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