Reflexive pronoun

[ted howard]

Does "Je m'appelle" translate as: "I call myself" and the contracted m is the French reflexive pronoun "me" which means "myself". And Il s'appelle translates as: "He calls himself" the contracted s being the French reflexive pronoun "se" meaning himself, herself, oneself, itself, themselves. Is my understanding of this correct?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks!

[stu harris]

Yes, perfectly correct.

[ted howard]

Thank you, Mr. Harris!

[lauris]

Well, here it is a bit special.

You comprehension of the reflexive pronoun is correct, but "Je m'appelle" won't be translated by "I call myself", but more with "I am called" or mainly "My name is"

[stu harris]

Oh yes, of course. I assumed he knew that, but was asking about the literal translation. Lauris, is "Mon nom est...." ever used?

[ted howard]

Yes, Lauris. I was aware of that but was simply trying to learn how it was they used the reflexive pronoun so I, too, could use it correctly. And I am curious to Stu's question as well. Why is "Mon nom est...." not used as much?

Thanks for your reply!

[lauris]

Ok sorry, I just found the example a bit strange for the use of reflexive pronoun.

 

Anyway, "Mon nom est" can still be found in books or comics, but not much in modern oral french. Maybe in an introduction in the context of an oral presentation for instance, I think I heard that once...