French Question
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"Vien ici!"
But usually they make a little "tck-tck" sound with their mouths, which is slightly different from the mouth-sound Anglophones make to call cats.
But usually they make a little "tck-tck" sound with their mouths, which is slightly different from the mouth-sound Anglophones make to call cats.
Well, I have an idea, but I think you'd have to be VERY careful about saying it in the proper accent, because in English it would come out sounding very, very vulgar. 
(and isn't the French word for "cat" very similar to "cat" anyway?)
(and isn't the French word for "cat" very similar to "cat" anyway?)
Er, yeah, but you wouldnt call a cat by calling "Cat", would you?
I have a faint memory of "mouche-mouche", but I may well be wrong.
I have a faint memory of "mouche-mouche", but I may well be wrong.
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Random unknown cats are "minou" in French, just as random unknown cats are "kitty" in English.
So "Ici, minou! Vien ici!" would probably be a reasonable thing for a French person who was summoning an unknown cat to say.
So "Ici, minou! Vien ici!" would probably be a reasonable thing for a French person who was summoning an unknown cat to say.
Thanks, guys! This helps.
Does this mean it's a tongue click instead of smoochy noises?
I think I can guess.slcboston said:Well, I have an idea, but I think you'd have to be VERY careful about saying it in the proper accent, because in English it would come out sounding very, very vulgar.
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It should be "viens ici", with an s at the end. And when calling a cat (the equivalent of "here kitty, kitty, kitty") you would just say rapidly "minou, minou, minou". If it's your cat, and you know the name, you'd stand on the doorstep and call the name in a long, drawn-out way, followed by the minou, minou bit. If you're holding out your hand to an unknown cat and trying to entice it over, then "Hé minou, viens ici" works very well.
Judg, who lived in Quebec with a cat.
Now see what you've gone and done. I'm all nostalgic, both for Quebec and for a cat.
Judg, who lived in Quebec with a cat.
Now see what you've gone and done. I'm all nostalgic, both for Quebec and for a cat.
Thanks, Judg!
Sorry about that. I know how you feel; every time I drop food on the floor, I think of my late, lovable, but gluttonous, dogs.
I second Judg's post. That's exactly what I was getting ready to to say.
Perle_Rare who grew up in Quebec and who used to call unknown kitties over by saying "minou, minou, minou".
Perle_Rare who grew up in Quebec and who used to call unknown kitties over by saying "minou, minou, minou".
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Yes, of course. I forgot that -ir verbs keep the s in the second-person singular imperative. D'oh!
Re: the French (i.e., in France) cat noise thingy: It's kind of a smacking sound made by the tongue against the gums right behind the front teeth. In other words, more of a tongue sound than a lip sound. It's higher-pitched than the US/UK cat smoochy noise.
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Thanks, IceCreamEmpress! I tried that and if one of the two ways I did it was right, it's either a tongue click or a smacking sound.