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Examples
“In France, there are two different professions: the bread baker is called the boulanger, and the pastry cook is called the pâtissier.”
“She recollected that it was to him she had promised the boulanger, the last notes of which she could hear just fading away.”
“The devil ceases to be le rabouin, and becomes le boulanger (the baker), who puts the bread into the oven.”
“Baking powder is levain chemique, and dry yeast is levain boulanger.”
“This is a fabulous opportunity to spoil your inner Francophile, learn from the very best -- a Parisian master boulanger no less!”
“P. J. Malouin, Description et détails des arts du meûnier, du vermicellier, et du boulanger, Paris, 1767.”
“French officials replaced the old national coach with Mr. Zimmermann, a member of the 1996 team -- the last to win gold -- and a boulanger and bakery consultant.”
“* References: boulanger (ère) mf = baker; pantalon (m) = pants; le crapaud (m) = toad; le vêtement de nuit (m) = pajamas; Vous voulez qu'on vous livre le pain, madame?”
“I selfishly hope he will be a boulanger, and live in the same village as me for life, and not some highfalutin editor who might get the bright idea to move to Paris or New York.”
“The artist has skilfully realised the oppressive and enervating atmosphere; and it was till lately quite usual to see in the side streets of Paris in the early morning the boulanger at work precisely in the same informal costume.”
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seanahan It can be a crutch for a writer who isn't good enough to convey the ambiance of a foreign land. Dec 30, 2009
chained_bear Not being a writer of novels, I can't answer your question. I, for one, don't know what the French word is for baker, but I could guess it if I'd read the entire paragraph. The rest of the paragraph might illuminate the writer's choice:
"He could see her heart in her throat the first time she spoke French to a real Frenchman; her pulse fluttered in the hollow of her neck like a trapped hummingbird. But the boulanger (etc., below)... at the same time.
'He understood me!' she said, clutching him by the arm as they left... 'I spoke French to him, and he kent what I said, clear as day!'"
I'd argue that the word is given here in French to give some flavor of the language, just as the dialogue of the characters (who are Scottish) also gives a flavor of their accent. Dec 22, 2009
yarb In the citation below, why not just say baker? Or why not use the French words for foreigner and accent as well? Why do writers use foreign nouns like this, indiscriminately, when there is a perfectly serviceable English translation? Dec 22, 2009
chained_bear "But the boulanger understood her—Brest was full of foreigners, and her peculiar accent roused no particular interest—and the sheer delight on her face when the man took her penny and handed her a baguette filled with cheese and olives made Jamie want to laugh and cry at the same time."
—Diana Gabaldon, An Echo in the Bone (New York: Delacorte Press, 2009), 766 Dec 21, 2009