English: The seat belt sign is off
French: La consigne des ceintures est éteinte
While we’re at it, the opposite of “illuminated” “allumé(e)” is “extinguished” “éteint(e)”.
French does not have an easy way to say “on” or “off”. When referring to the seat belt sign, which is a light, we can literally say in French “illuminated” and “extinguished”.
Allumer=To illuminate, to light
Allumé(e)=Illuminated
Éteindre=To extinguish, to put out
Éteint(e)=Extinguished
La consigne des ceintures est éteinte=The seat belt sign is off
In impromptu flight attendant announcements, it’s more common to remind passengers that the seat belt sign is still on. It’s not as common to tell passengers that the seat belt sign is off. However, after each landing, this is something the flight attendant is required to read in the standard regulatory “taxi-in announcement”. The exact wording of standard announcements varies from airline to airline, but the taxi-in announcement usually reminds passengers to stay seated with their seat belts fastened and baggage stowed until “the seat belt sign is switched off”.
Incidentally, when talking about “putting out a fire”, the French verb is also “éteindre”.
Now available! Module 4 of Canadian French for Flight Attendants. Learn the French for:
-Less common food/drinks/special meals.
-Bag issues (bag won't fit/no more space).
-Announcements for mechanical problems, cancellations, airplane changes, diverting, etc.
-Delays because of fuel, catering, connection passengers, weather, etc.
-Tight/missed connections.
-And much, much more!
Flight Attendant Souvenirs. Souvenirs d’un agent de bord. Morocco, December 2019. Maroc, décembre 2019. Finishing my stay in Fes, I headed to the Fes train station to take a train to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. The trains have a first class and an economy class and the price difference is really minimal. Depending on the train, you might not get too much more except for a slightly wider seat, but it makes for a slightly more comfortable ride. You’ll notice the words “Gare de Fes” above the entrance to the Fes train station, and it teaches you what the French word for “(train) station” is: Gare (f).
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