“A fascinating exploration. As Cervantes asked, can we ever have too much of a good thing?”  – Marsha Dubrow, Examiner.com. Read the article

“We know that Spanish has given us “gringo“, “macho“, and “marijuana”, but it’s also given us the terms for filibuster, concentration camp, and the dollar as

Por Julio César Rivas/EFE , Toronto (Canadá)

Los autores canadienses Jean-Benoit

Booklist’s starred review of The Story of Spanish: “Nadeau and Barlow once again present a thoroughly researched linguistic history. Part anthropological study, part

On October 19th, Jean-Benoît Nadeau participated in a debate with the Time’s former European bureau chief Donald Morrison, organized by France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Estates-General

In Maclean’s magazine, Brian Bethune writes about The Story of Spanish: “Nadeau and Barlow present a multi-layered history of the language.”

Jean-Benoît just got back from Paris where we launched the new and revised French translation of The Story of French. Good news! The French

“…Interesting look into a subject that is at once familiar but rarely examined in this manner.” Between the Covers, Baltimore County Public Library.

The Bonjour Effect is on the new list of favourite books posted on BonjourParis.com.

El matrimonio de Julie Barlow y Jean Benoit-Nadeau presenta en DC el libro que indaga las controversias del idioma

Por Paula Andaló, El Tiempo

Listen to CBC’s All in a Weekend radio show from May 11, 2013 where host Sonali Karnick talks with Nadeau & Barlow about

In this interview with Mike McConnell from WGN radio in Chicago, Julie explains why Cinco de Mayo is more American than Mexican.

Louis Cornellier a écrit dans Le Devoir cette fin de semaine une très belle critique d’Ainsi parlent les Français: “Le sujet est en or

“You don’t have to know any Spanish to enjoy this charming biography of what is perhaps the world’s least appreciated major language.”
–Donald

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong is on the top of the list of Expatica’s Top Ten Books on Figuring Out the French.

“The

“It’s time for book reviews. Here are three books I recommend, and one I’ll be buying. Faust’s Blog

Announcing Jean-Benoît Nadeau’s new blog on the  Forum mondial de la langue française (The French Language World Forum).

About the Forum: www.ForumFrancophonie2012.org

Barlow and Nadeau publish Op/Ed on French Elections in Globe

Jean-Benoît Nadeau is among the finalists for the Grands prix 2012 from L’Association québécoise des éditeurs de magazines for his article in L’actualité, 

The Huffington Post recommends calls The Story of French  a” savoury biography.” It’s among Steve Leveen’s recommending reading for Thanksgiving.

We published an opinion piece about the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris in the Huffington Post today. In our view, the French have

Jean-Benoît Nadeau is among the finalists for the FPJQ’s 2012 Judith-Jasmin award for his MSN.ca column article, “Le Québec analphabète,”

On Friday, December 9th, l’Académie des Sciences d’Outre-mer (The Academy of Overseas Sciences) awarded the Prix de la Renaissance Française (French Renaissance Award) to Canadian

Is there too much English in Quebec schools? On Oct. 13, 2011, on Bazzo.tv (Télé-Québec), Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Gérald Larose debated on Quebec’s

Quebec and France: two different cultures separated by the same language! On the French radio program TOUT UN MONDE, which aired on Oct.

See Julie’s recommended reads on France on  the new site  Shepherd’s Discover the Best Books site: “The Best books for understanding the French.”

What do the French really mean when they say Bonjour? Julie answers this and more in an interview in the Toronto Star.

Julie was interview for this BBC story exploring how the concept of “excitement” doesn’t translate into French. “Verbally, ‘I’m so excited’

Pop history of the evolution of the Spanish language and its spread through conquest, commerce and culture.
Read the review »

By Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times: ‘The Story of Spanish’ offers a rich history of the language. Read the whole article »

On October 31, 2013, Jean-Benoît Nadeau will be at the University of Augsburg to give his presentation – Converging views: “Urgent” Spanish and “quiet”

Jean-Benoît Nadeau, co-author of The Story of French is quoted in Maclean’s

Julie Barlow has an article in the Spring 2013 edition of CELLIER, available in SAQ stores. In “Montreal, Mon Amour” ten prominent Montrealers – from

Hispanic Heritage in the U.S. runs much deeper than most people think. Julie and Jean-Benoît explain why in the op-ed “Hispanic heritage

Chers Ami(e)s et Collègues,

France Culture diffusera La langue française n’a pas dit son dernier mot

Julie just released a new book she helped two McGill family medicine professors write. It shows doctors and patients how to use online information to

Nuevo Mundo Television host Ginella Díaz interviewed Julie and Jean-Benoît in Spanish about the making of The Story of Spanish. Watch the

We just published an Op/Ed in Montreal answering Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s claim that “Hydro-Québec should be selling more electricity to Canada.” As

In this opinion piece in The Gazette, inspired by our book Charging Ahead: Hydro-Québec and the Future of Electricity, we explain how Hilo,

Patrick Cox from PRI’s The World in Words talks with Julie Barlow about The Story of Spanish. Listen to the podcast

“…[Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong] should be handed out at Calais and Charles de Gaulle airport to anyone hoping to get a grip on

“this new book goes well beyond the “bonjour.” As usual, Nadeau and Barlow write as if they are anthropologists viewing a culture through the

Interviewed in the May 3 issue of Shelf-Awareness, Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau talk about some of the discoveries they made when

What makes the French so infuriatingly French?

By Philip Delves

Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow launched their latest book The Story of Spanish with the help of the

In the April 2013 edition of Language Magazine, Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau published an essay that explains why Spanish is no longer a “foreign” language in

St. Martin’s Press is releasing The Story of Spanish in paperback July 15. Order your copy on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca

Successful languages: Authors say english has helped french

The French magazine Femme Actuelle Jeux recently published an “ABC of the French Language” based on our book The Story

Lysiane Gagnon reviewed The Bonjour Effect in her column in the Globe and Mail: Finding your way in France, a country where polite conversation

Molly Young wrote a glowing review of The Bonjour Effect in the New York Times Book Review, May 22, 2016,  In the Know:

The New York Times Book Review included The Bonjour Effect on its list of new paperback releases this May. Read the short piece about the book here, in Paperback

What a pleasure it was  talking to Rick Steves about The Bonjour Effect for his radio show

On his special Bastile Day show Rick Steves asks us about how the French reacted to our translation of The Bonjour Effect, what

France Today magazine says The Bonjour Effect is The Bonjour Effect is “a

In this review in the Daily Mail, Marcus Berkmann writes The Bonjour Effect shows that “however French we may have thought the French were, we

In this article about the state of French immigration in the Christian Science Monitor, interviewee Jean-Benoît Nadeau comments on the French

“…an excellent book … stuffed with surprises, insight and humor.”
The Independent

Columnist Mary Kenny calls the Bonjour Effect a “riveting study.” ‘French conversation can be terrifying, and now I know why.” Read the interview.

Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau follow up their exploration of French with The Story of Spanish

By Marian Scott, The Gazette

The Story of Spanish

By Jean-Benoît

The French Have

Julie was interviewed for an article in France-Amérique’s web magazine about the French waiter who was fired from his job in a Vancouver

“…a well-told, highly accessible history of the French language that leads to a spirited discussion of the prospects for French in an increasingly English-dominated

The New Yorker’s European correspondant Lauren talks about The Story of French in her essay Love in Translation, in the April edition.

“Their compelling book combines history, research, anecdotes, reflections, travelogue — and trivia.”  – Marsha Dubrow, Examiner.com. Read the article »

From The Economist’s Books and Arts section:

The Rise of Spanish: Hats off
Spanish has more native speakers than any language other than Mandarin. Yet

On Thursday, June 13, 2013 Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoît Nadeau presented their book The Story of Spanish at Paragraphe bookstore.

More than three years after we started researching and writing The Story of Spanish, it’s finally in stores! Get your copy now at:

Peter Anthony Holder, host of the Stuph File Program, interviews Julie and Jean-Benoît about the many surprising facts they discovered while researching

Read Nadeau & Barlow’s latest commentary about the United States and immigration in the Globe and Mail: Strangely, Americans see immigration reform as

There’s nothing like becoming bilingual when you’re young.

The Wall Street Journal Reviews The Story of Spanish

Julie and Jean-Benoît Nadeau published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, May 3. Read the article »

“… does its job marvelously well.  After reading it, you may still think the French arrogant, aloof and high-handed, but you will know why.”

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong is one of the “Top 10 books on figuring out the French,” according to

Por Rufo Valencia, Radio Canada International

Jean-BenoÎt Nadeau y Julie Barlow son dos autores canadienses que se lanzaron con gusto a la tarea de

By Peter Oliva

In 1831, 66 years before Edmond Rostand created

Julie Barlow tells her side of the story as she describes the moment she met her husband and co-author, Jean-Benoît Nadeau.

Why are the French rude?  Paris expat site The Local interviewed Julie and Jean-Benoît about this persistent, mistaken perception of the French. Read The French are

We’re delighted to discover The Bonjour Effect is on the Sonoma Index-Tribune’s list of bestselling paperbacks this week.

Winesworld Magazine says “Francophiles, and every would-be tourist will be well served by the detail of the Bonjour Effect.” Read interview here.

They present an entertaining — if arduous — journey through 3,000 years, five empires and three continents, detailing how the Spanish (Castilian) language developed…