A Handy Misguide to French

Ask the average non-French-speaking persons to identify Louis Seize. Chances are ho'll reply quickly, "Why cares what Louis says?"

Anybody can stumble over the concrete blocks of basis French as Fred S. Pearson, 2d and Richard Taylor demonstrate in "Fractured French," a sly misguide to the language.

Beginning French, they claim, need not be a bering motorization of such dry phrases as "the pen of my father in on my mother's bed." Translations can titillate. In 44 cartoons and 43 free and easy translation, they proved three point.

Confronted for example, with the declaration: "Je suis furleux," they refuse to bother filling out any syntax forms. Instead, Taylor draws a man bearing four mink wraps, and Pearson smoothy translates the sentence as "I am I. J. Fox."

About half the captions resemble this one in that you need no knowledge of French to appreciate them. But such Gallicisms as "taut is, ant mieux" (My aunt is so much happier since she made a telephone call") cannot be fully understood except by someone familiar enough with French to know what "taint" means.

Taylor, matchless as the portrayer of the heavy-lideded so phisticate, is as good here as over in the New Yorker. And Pearson's array of phrases and confused translations contains just enough double meanings to make "Fractured French" a real piece do resistance.