# Need help with help to check if name is grammatically correct



## Dr.ViJ

Hi! We are preparing an educational startup project, and we wanted to name it "Les Bon Temps". Could somebody help if such name is grammatically correct in french? Our idea is to make educational software that will help learn remotely, and good education will bring good times in future.


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## BackinFrance

Dr.ViJ said:


> Hi! We are preparing an educational startup project, and we wanted to name it "Les Bon Temps". Could somebody help if such name is grammatically correct in french? Our idea is to make educational software that will help learn remotely, and good education will bring good times in future.


I think you are trying to translate something that doesn't exist as such in French, which is much more specific about the idea you are trying to convey.


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## Lalla

Les bons temps would be more grammatically correct.


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## BackinFrance

Lalla said:


> Les bons temps would be more grammatically correct.


Except that it is absolutely meaningless in French and does not exist as an expression. A suitable expression would be something like les jours heureux.


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## Dr.ViJ

Interesting, we thought that the phrase has meaning cause "Laissez les bons temps rouler" exist. But thank you so much. I think we should think more about it


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## Lalla

Dr.ViJ said:


> Interesting, we thought that the phrase has meaning cause "Laissez les bons temps rouler" exist. But thank you so much. I think we should think more about it


Yep. Specific to French speakers in the US. Perhaps not commonly known. But then you could use it as a talking point


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## Lalla

(And perhaps a play on words given les temps = tenses in English, given it's an educational tool)


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## Clic Clac

Dr.ViJ said:


> Hi! We are preparing an educational startup project, and we wanted to name it *"Les Bon Temps". *


Who are you aiming the site at? The French?


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## BackinFrance

Dr.ViJ said:


> Interesting, we thought that the phrase has meaning cause "Laissez les bons temps rouler" exist. But thank you so much. I think we should think more about it


But not French as spoken in Europe.

Although French people here would have a sense of what it means. But here they would say something along the lines of Que la fête commence. 

What precisely are you trying to say and who would be the audience?


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## Bevdeforges

Dr.ViJ said:


> Interesting, we thought that the phrase has meaning cause "Laissez les bons temps rouler" exist. But thank you so much. I think we should think more about it


"Laissez les bons temps rouler" is a literal translation of the line in the song about "Let the good times roll." Basically, it's sort of a way of making fun of Cajun "French" as she is spoken in Louisiana. (Possibly also Quebecois, though I don't think it's "correct" in any North American version of French.) 

For a real "fun" example of modern "Cajun" I offer this:


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## Dr.ViJ

We are making physics simulation software for education (Electrostatic fields solvers, Electrodynamics, etc.), we have this project as a Tech Demo, and we want to bring it to La French Tech. So we wanted to give a name to our product, that should mean that educational technologies would bring good times in future. It means that knowledge is power, but it is the power that you get in future after you get the knowledge. So we want to say something like Let The Good Times Begin, Or Let the good times roll. So we stopped at The Good Times. Like in phrases -“*Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times". *So we want to help to learn engineers to help people create such good times. That's the idea of our product


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## Dr.ViJ

Clic Clac said:


> Who are you aiming the site at? The French?


Yes, we want to show our product to some of La French Tech accelerators


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## Dr.ViJ

Our audience are Physics teachers and students that want to learn physics


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## BackinFrance

Dr.ViJ said:


> We are making physics simulation software for education (Electrostatic fields solvers, Electrodynamics, etc.), we have this project as a Tech Demo, and we want to bring it to La French Tech. So we wanted to give a name to our product, that should mean that educational technologies would bring good times in future. It means that knowledge is power, but it is the power that you get in future after you get the knowledge. So we want to say something like Let The Good Times Begin, Or Let the good times roll. So we stopped at The Good Times. Like in phrases -“*Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times". *So we want to help to learn engineers to help people create such good times. That's the idea of our product


Why not just leave it in English, which is a language that seems to go down particularly well with La French Tech?


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## Lalla

Bevdeforges said:


> "Laissez les bons temps rouler" is a literal translation of the line in the song about "Let the good times roll." Basically, it's sort of a way of making fun of Cajun "French" as she is spoken in Louisiana. (Possibly also Quebecois, though I don't think it's "correct" in any North American version of French.)
> 
> For a real "fun" example of modern "Cajun" I offer this:


Nobody saying it's "correct", it's a colloquialism. Specific to the North American continent.


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## Dr.ViJ

BackinFrance said:


> Why not just leave it in English, which is a language that seems to go down particularly well with La French Tech?


It seems to be the best idea, I think you are definitely right, thank you so much. I did not expect that my translation is so bad, and I am glad to prevent such a bad name to become our naming.


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## BackinFrance

Dr.ViJ said:


> It seems to be the best idea, I think you are definitely right, thank you so much. I did not expect that my translation is so bad, and I am glad to prevent such a bad name to become our naming.


Actually, since I posted I found a restaurant in Tours, France, called Les Bons Temps and some discotheques that use the name but don't seem sure how to spell it. 

Still, as you are apparently looking for a phrase to use for promotional purposes, you need to be wary of trademarks, even if they are only approximative trademark owners could take action against you. 

And then what you said about stronger etc must have sparked something in my brain around force majeure, which is not in itself appropriate given it denotes a get out clause in contracts. But then La force majeure popped into my mind, which is a play on words, though you would of course still need to be wary of registered trademarks 

Anyway, whatever you do, I wish you luck.

This is posted by a creative person whose brain works in strange ways and who knows pretty much nothing about physics.


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## ChrisCran

I confirm that "Les bons temps" and "Laisser les bons temps rouler" have no meaning for a french people !


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## ToutesDirections

As I understand it, in North America the phrase is basically a call to party. Used in bars and street festivals in Louisiana. As a physics geek I'm licensed to say that when we do party, which is not often, it is generally awkward 😂.


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## Franco-Belgian Brit

The simplest explanation I have found.





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Loading…






en.wikipedia.org


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## Clic Clac

BackinFrance said:


> Why not just leave it in English, which is a language that seems to go down particularly well with La French Tech?


Yes, the French seem to like 'borrowing' English names and expressions for their advertising,

like 'Wall Street English', 'Time is money' and, my favourite, 'It's Nice in Nice'.

OP could choose something, then see if it's understood by the French.


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## Luftmarque

ToutesDirections said:


> As I understand it, in North America the phrase is basically a call to party. Used in bars and street festivals in Louisiana. As a physics geek I'm licensed to say that when we do party, which is not often, it is generally awkward 😂.


That video made my day! Thanks 🙂


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