Famous French People Edith Piaf
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Famous French People Edith Piaf by Robert Shepherd Vocabulary & pronunciation study by Fiona Kinloch © Words are explained alongside the text Syllables are marked with a dot • Stressed syllables are underlined and in bold* Hello, this is Robert Shepherd and welcome to the Famous French series. Over the next few months, EnglishWaves will explore some of the most famous and widely-regarded (exp.) inspirational French people from all walks of life. We start considered by many with Édith Piaf, the one-time cabaret singer who became widely -regarded as France's national diva. She was born in Paris on 19th December 1915 as Édith Giovanna Gassion. diva (n.) a celebrated female singer Although pronounced Édith in her native France, she was named after the World War I British nurse Edith Cavell, who was executed for helping French soldiers es•cape from to ply (vb.) to perform as German captivity. Édith's mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard, was an Italian cafe singer, who performed under the name “Line Marsa.” Her father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion, plied his to be testing (exp.) to be trade as a street ac•ro•bat. Édith's early years were testing difficult to say the least and she wasn't long into her youth when her parents abandoned her. It is thought she may have taken to take shelter (exp.) to stay shelter with her ma•ter•nal grandmother, who ran a brothel. Yet in 1929, at the tender age of 14, she re- united with her father and supported his street per formances all over France. However, the re-unification did not last long and the young Édith set out on her own as a street singer in and around Paris. At the age of 17, she gave birth to a daughter named to set out (phrasal vb.) to start a career Marcelle, who sadly died of meningitis at the age of two. Édith's reputation as an artist continued to grow and in 1935, she was spotted by Louis Leplée, who owned the successful to be spotted (exp.) to be club Le Gerny off the Champs-Élysées. discovered for having a talent Her nickname, La Môme Piaf, was born and was inspired by her nervous energy and small stature - and it would stay with stature (n.) height her for the rest of her life. Such was the im•press•ion the young Piaf made on Leplée, he ran a major publicity campaign promoting her opening night. She was pop•u•lar enough to record two albums during that year. However, more bad luck came Piaf's way. Not only was Leplée to shoulder (exp.) to take on / murdered the following spring, she was investigated as an to have accomplice to the crime. Leplée's death meant Piaf had to shoulder more responsibility and so she adopted her stage name permanently (adv.) continually - Édith Piaf - permanently. The woman who entered the world during World War I became one of the most popular to state (vb.) to say performers in France during World War II. Nevertheless, with her to this day (exp.) still success came con•trov•ersy. Her concerts for German servicemen did not go down well at home, although she later veracity (n.) truth stated that she had been working for the French Resistance. To this day the veracity of this claim is unclear, yet Piaf was unclear (adj.) not obvious instrumental in helping numerous individuals escape Nazi per•se•cu•tion. By the time the war ended, Piaf's fame had instrumental (adv.) very important / a key part spread across the globe. She toured Europe, South America and the United States. American audiences were initially put off by to garner (vb.) to win / collect Piaf's demeanour and dark clothes, but she garnered glowing reviews and ultimately achieved enough of an audience to to warrant (vb.) to merit warrant two televised performances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Piaf also helped other artists get their careers off the ground. A to get a career off the ground young French-Armenian by the name of Charles Aznavour (exp.) to launch a career opened for Piaf at the Moulin Rouge. Piaf then advised him to to pursue (vb.) to follow / pursue a career in singing. Of Piaf’s many ballads, “La Vie en chase Rose” is remembered as her signature song, while many associate her with "Non, je ne regrette rien". Édith Piaf died in signature (adj.) well known 1963 and was buried in the famous Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris with a number of other famous faces from the arts. *Tip! Syllable Stress can help us to understand spoken words - if we know how to pronounce a word then we are more likely to hear it correctly and therefore understand it and be able to use it when we speak. Let’s take the words 'synonymous' and 'synonym' as an example. First count the syllables: 'syn•on•y•mous' has 4 syllables 'syn•o•nym' has 3 syllables Syllable Stress is when you say one of the syllables slightly louder and with more emphasis. So in this example we say: synonymous s and synonym .