9. Par contre...
pronounced more or less: pahr conh-treuh (in the Midi) OR "pahr conh" + just a touch of "tr" (Paris and elsewhere)
Note: the "con-" is nasalized
Literal translation: by against (double prepositions sometimes appear in French)
Meaning: "on the other hand"
Implications: Like en revanche, par contre is used in the same contexts as "on the other hand" in English. It segues into a statement that opposes the point just expressed, allowing
you to perform a linguistic balancing of the equation.
Remark: Whereas the meaning of this expression is "on the other hand," it's sometimes better translated as "but" or "however," depending on the context. And there's a difference between your using it to make two different points yourself (e.g."I just found a great deal on a new laptop; par contre it has a French keyboard..."), and someone else using it to counter what you say. In the latter case, chances are you're being called out.
Long considered as "incorrect" speech, par contre now appears in the Larousse and other such dictionaries, as an absolutely acceptable alternative to en revanche. If (when) a purist corrects you, trot out the names of these well-known, respected authors who used par contre
in their work: Tocqueville, Stendhal, Maupassant, Gide, Proust,
Saint-Exupéry and Malraux (among many others). If that doesn't convince
them, toss the Académie Française into the mix.
Example One: A wonderful butcher comes through your village twice a week, a real plus since you live out in the boonies. He knows everyone in all the villages on his route by their first names. In colder weather when the windows are shut, you sometimes miss the horn announcing his arrival. En revanche, if you're too under the weather to go out to meet him at one of his several stopping spots, he'll happily deliver right to your doorstep at no charge. And if you forget your checkbook or don't have enough cash on you to pay for your purchase, he just marks down the amount owing and lets you pay next time he comes around. Everything he sells is organic and top quality, too. Par contre, your money doesn't buy as much from him as in a grocery store.
Example Two: In late February you receive a letter from the ERDF (Electricité Réseau Distribution France) informing you that there's a 5-hour power outage scheduled for April 13, from 8:30 - 13:30. The letter further informs you that the ERDF will try to make the outage as brief as possible and restore the power ahead of schedule. The letter ends with a standard fluffy highbrow blurb: "Nous vous prions de croire, Cher client, en notre volonté de vous assurer la meilleure qualité de service." A perfect example of pipeau, this translates roughly into: "we want to assure our clients the best service possible."
OK, sure, they might like to look at things that way; par contre past experience precludes you from sharing their rosy picture.
The morning of April 13 finally rolls around. Everyone in the village and surrounding hamlets has planned their day around the scheduled outage: the Agence postale, boulanger-épicierie, Café, restaurant and Mairie are closed, will open at 14:00 when the power is back on. Those who work at home have planned their days accordingly. The 5-hour block of time comes and goes without the power being turned off. Some assume all is well; par contre, you have this odd feeling...and at two o'clock sharp, the power goes out...
