1 â French Terrorism Vocabulary
- Le terrorisme = terrorism (watch out for the pronunciation, in English, it sounds like ârezumâ at the end. In French, the ee is long so it sounds like âreez meâ
- Un/une terroriste = a terrorist
- La terreur = terror
- La peur = fear
- Avoir peur = to be afraid (watch out, we use âto haveâ fear in French)
- La panique = panic
2 â Un attentat = a terrorist attack
- Une attaque = an attack
- Une bombe = a bomb
- Un détonateur = a detonator
- Une explosion = an explosion
- Un incendie criminel = a criminal fire
- Exploser une bombe = to trigger a bomb (proper)
- Faire sauter une bombe = to trigger a bomb (colloquial)
- Diffuser une bombe = to defuse a bomb
- Une alerte Ă la bombe = a bomb scare/alert
- Une voiture piégée = a car bomb
- Un auteur dâattentat-suicide / une bombe humaine / un kamikaze = a suicide bomber
3 â Un otage = an hostage â always masculine, strong liaison in N (un notage)
- Un prisonnier = a prisoner
- Un ravisseur = a kidnapper
- Prendre / exécuter / libérer un otage = to take / kill /free hostages
- Traquer les terroristes = to track down terrorists
- Soupçonner quelquâun = to suspect someone
- Un suspect (c and t silent) = a suspect
4 â Une arme = a weapon
- Une arme a feu = a firearm
- Un revolver, un pistolet = a handgun
- Une mitrailleuse = a machine gun
- Une mitraillette = an automatic handgun, a Tommy gun
- Un fusil = a rifle
- Une balle = a bullet
- Tirer sur quelquâun = to shoot at someone
- Se faire tirer dessus = to be shot at
- Tuer quelquâun = to kill someone
- Abattre quelquâun = To intentionally kill someone with a weapon / to strike someone down
- Abattre un avion = to bring down a plane
- Blesser quelquâun = to wound someone
- Un blessé, une blessée = a wounded man/woman
- Un mort (t silent) = a dead man
- Une morte (t pronounced) = a dead woman
- Un passant innocent = an innocent bystander
- Dons de sang/dons du sang = blood donation
- Appel aux dons du sang = (official) request for blood donations
5 â Renforcer la sĂ©curitĂ© = to tighten security
- Un, une témoin = a witness
- Interroger = to interrogate, to question
- Un barrage = a road-block
- Une frontiĂšre = a border
- Fermer/ ouvrir les frontiĂšres = close/open up the borders
- Fouiller = to search for
- Revendiquer une attaque = to claim responsibility for an attack
- Etre impliqué dans = to be involved in
- Une cellule terroriste = a terrorist cell
- Un réseau = a network
6 â Un extrĂ©miste = an extremist
- Le fanatisme = fanaticism
- Au nom de = in the name of
- La politique = politic
- La religion = religion
- La Chrétienté = Christianity
- Le bouddhisme = buddhism
- LâIslam = Islam
- Dieu = God
- Allah = Allah
- Un musulman, une musulmane = a Muslim
- Un chrétien, une chrétienne = a Christian
- Un juif, une juive = a Jew
- Un bouddhiste = a Buddhist
- Une guerre de religion = a religious war
- Une guerre politique = a political war
- Le racisme = racism
- Daesh = Isis/Isil/IS â there might be slight differences but most often, France news will use âDaeshâ or Etat islamique (EI)

7 â What Does Fluctuat Nec Mergitur Mean?
âFluctuat Nec Mergiturâ is the motto of the city of Paris and it was featured a lot after the 2015 Terror Paris attacks.
Itâs latin, so pronounce each letter and the u like âouâ. The English translation is âfloats, not sinksâ.
So âFluctuat Nec Mergiturâ means that the city of Paris is like a solid boat: it may be rocked by the waves, it will float and not sink.
8 â Pronunciation of Fluctuat Nec Mergitur with Audio
Well, there are two pronunciations for âFluctuat Nec Mergiturâ⊠Itâs latin, so to pronounce it in Latin, say each letter, the G is hard like Gorilla, and the u is typically pronounced like âouâ, and the R is rolled.
But many French people pronounce it with a French accent .âŠ
So itâs your choice! Click the play buttons below to hear me pronounce ââFluctuat Nec Mergiturâ in Latin and French
9 â Pronunciation of Fluctuat Nec Mergitur with Audio â Latin
10 â Pronunciation of Fluctuat Nec Mergitur with Audio â French
You may also be interested in What Does âJe suis Charlieâ means and Vive la France â How to Express Patriotism in French.
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