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Location: Louisville KY but moving to Springfield MO
20 posts, read 89,244 times
Reputation: 38
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I'm an American who was born and raised in America, but was raised in a French-speaking home as a young boy. My grandparents on my mother's side of the family lived with us for several years when I was a young boy. My grandmother was French from Strasbourg. Now my grandmother spoke four languages, (French, English, German, and Alsatian) but she preferred to speak French at home with her family. Unfortunately, my grandmother died when I was seven years old, before I had a chance to become fully bilingual in French. However, even though its been more than twenty years since my grandmother died, I still know enough French for an intermediate to advanced conversation in most situations. I also try hard to keep up my French language skills by reading books in French and watching DVD movies in French. Unfortunately, there aren't very many French-speaking people in Louisville, Kentucky. I want to raise my children in a French-speaking home because I'm convinced about the benefits of being able to speak more than one language. Just by virtue of knowing some French I've been able to meet all sorts of interesting people, who I probably would never have been able to meet if I didn't speak some French.
French-speaking people from France and Quebec tend to treat me very nicely. I guess in some ways they look at me as one of their own, also they tend to be very curious about an American raised in a French-speaking home. When I tell a person from France or Quebec about my background, they normally ask me a bunch questions about myself and my family. Most Americans tend to be very surprised that as an average American I was raised in a French-speaking home.
Unfortunately, I've heard all sorts of insulting things about the French here in America. Most of the people who said insulting thing about the French in front of me did not know that I was a French American, and that I'm French-sepaking. On a few occassions I told the people that I was French, and I tried to set them straight about their views of the French. Most Americans don't realize how many great Americans have been French Americans. They also don't realize how the French have contributed to American history. In my opinion, I think that most Americans who view the French poorly do so out of ignorance. I've only had two people that I can remember who insulted me directly even though they knew I was French. I had one idiot at the start of the Iraq War tell me that the only good thing to come out of France was the Guillotine! He went on to say that we should take all the French wimps and chop off their heads on the Guillotine to do the world a favor. Unfortunately, he wasn't joking, he was pretty serious in this discussion. As you can guess, I was pretty insulted by that statement, and I basically said we should take all the idiots in the world, like yourself, and chop off their heads on the Guillotine to do the world a favor.
France is not ungrateful for what America did for them during WWII. However, since WWII France has had more experience dealing with Muslim terrorists than America has. The Algerian War is one of the reasons why France did not want to get tied up in another war in the Muslim world. Most Americans don't even their own history let alone French history. Most Americans have never even heard about the Algerian War, and how Muslim terrorists blew up schools filled with French children in Algeria. They never heard about the horrible things like the Paris Massacre in 1961. So that's why I think most Americans who have a bad attitude towards the French do so out of ignorance. In France, I would say that most of the people, especially in rural areas, are very friendly people. In other cities of France besides Paris most of the people are pretty friendly as well. Parisians are rude like people from New York or Boston. Unforutnately, most Americans who go to France only visit Paris, so that's their impression of the whole country.
Last edited by FrenchAmerican0721; 08-16-2007 at 10:37 AM..
I'm an American who was born and raised in America, but was raised in a French-speaking home as a young boy. My grandparents on my mother's side of the family lived with us for several years when I was a young boy. My grandmother was French from Strasbourg. Now my grandmother spoke four languages, (French, English, German, and Alsatian) but she preferred to speak French at home with her family. Unfortunately, my grandmother died when I was seven years old, before I had a chance to become fully bilingual in French. However, even though its been more than twenty years since my grandmother died, I still know enough French for an intermediate to advanced conversation in most situations. I also try hard to keep up my French language skills by reading books in French and watching DVD movies in French. Unfortunately, there aren't very many French-speaking people in Louisville, Kentucky. I want to raise my children in a French-speaking home because I'm convinced about the benefits of being able to speak more than one language. Just by virtue of knowing some French I've been able to meet all sorts of interesting people, who I probably would never have been able to meet if I didn't speak some French.
French-speaking people from France and Quebec tend to treat me very nicely. I guess in some ways they look at me as one of their own, also they tend to be very curious about an American raised in a French-speaking home. When I tell a person from France or Quebec about my background, they normally ask me a bunch questions about myself and my family. Most Americans tend to be very surprised that as an average American I was raised in a French-speaking home.
Unfortunately, I've heard all sorts of insulting things about the French here in America. Most of the people who had a bad attitude towards the French did not know that I was a French American, and that I'm French-sepaking. On a few occassions I told the people that I was French, and I tried to set them straight about their views of the French. Most Americans don't realize how many great Americans have been French Americans. They also don't realize how the French have contributed to American history. In my opinion, I think that most Americans who view the French poorly do so out of ignorance. I've only had two people that I can remember who insulted me directly even though they knew I was French. I had one idiot at the start of the Iraq War tell me that the only good thing to come out of France was the Guillotine! He went on to say that we should take all the French wimps and chop off their heads on the Guillotine to do the world a favor. As you can guess, I was pretty insulted by that statement, and I basically said we should take all the idiots in the world, like yourself, and chop off their heads on the Guillotine to do the world a favor.
France is not ungrateful for what America did for them during WWII. However, since WWII France has had more experience dealing with Muslim terrorists than America has. The Algerian War is one of the reasons why France did not want to get tied up in another war in the Muslim world. Most Americans don't even their own history let alone French history. Most Americans have never even heard about the Algerian War, and how Muslim terrorists blew up schools filled with French children in Algeria. They never heard about the horrible things like the Paris Massacre in 1961. So that's why I think most Americans who have a bad attitude towards the French do so out of ignorance. In France, I would say that most of the people, especially in rural areas, are very friendly people. In other cities of France besides Paris most of the people are pretty friendly as well. Parisians are rude like people from New York or Boston. Unforutnately, most Americans who go to France only visit Paris, so that's their impression of the whole country.
Parisians are rude like people from New York or Boston. Unforutnately, most Americans who go to France only visit Paris, so that's their impression of the whole country.
I don't know. I had no problem at all in Paris and would take the Parisians over Bostonians any day.
I rarely agree with French policies, but I do love visiting the country. On a personal level, they are fine with me.
Location: Louisville KY but moving to Springfield MO
20 posts, read 89,244 times
Reputation: 38
You're Right Moth
You're right moth! I should clarify that statement. Not everyone in Paris is rude, and what I said could be misinterpreted as a blanket statement. I've also met some friendly Parisians. Unfortunately, I've also talked to quite a few Americans who have encountered rude or snobby Frenchmen in Paris. Now you have to take that statement with a grain of salt. The rude Frenchmen these Americans encountered may have acted rude because the Americans were doing something rude or annoying themselves. I've seen American tourists in Paris who fit the description of an "ugly American" to a T. When you go to a foreign country you should take the time to at least learn a few basic phrases in the native language. There are Americans who will go to a country like France and assume everyone speaks English, and they'll approach someone and start speaking English to them. That is incredibly rude!
You're right moth! I should clarify that statement. Not everyone in Paris is rude, and what I said could be misinterpreted as a blanket statement. I've also met some friendly Parisians. Unfortunately, I've also talked to quite a few Americans who have encountered rude or snobby Frenchmen in Paris. Now you have to take that statement with a grain of salt. The rude Frenchmen these Americans encountered may have acted rude because the Americans were doing something rude or annoying themselves. I've seen American tourists in Paris who fit the description of an "ugly American" to a T. When you go to a foreign country you should take the time to at least learn a few basic phrases in the native language. There are Americans who will go to a country like France and assume everyone speaks English, and they'll approach someone and start speaking English to them. That is incredibly rude!
Well, I've never met anyone that visited the US that learned just a few phrases for the purpose of being considerate.
Well, when I was in colmar my friend got the finger for wearing an I *heart* NY shirt. Not to mention I was spit on by a gypsy in what I think was Strasbourg (was a few years ago)
Well, I've never met anyone that visited the US that learned just a few phrases for the purpose of being considerate.
Well, when I was in colmar my friend got the finger for wearing an I *heart* NY shirt. Not to mention I was spit on by a gypsy in what I think was Strasbourg (was a few years ago)
Most Europeans coming to visit the US have, at least, a very good working knowledge of english. Some have an excellent command of english. English is taught from the early grades onward and is, by far, the most popular foreign language for Eropens to learn. Many jobs in Europe require written and spoken fluency in english.
Maybe the finger-flicker was a tourist, you can never tell. The Alsace is a popular place for tourists (and American military) because of the cuisine.
I've encountered gypsies in France and found them to be very seclusive. Once I have seen the children of gypsies running wild and spitting on parked cars while the parents merely watched. But, for the most part, the gypsies keep to themselves and with their own kind.
Well, I've never met anyone that visited the US that learned just a few phrases for the purpose of being considerate.
How many non-U.S. citizens have you met?
As Visvaldis says, many, if not most, European citizens have at least some working knowledge of English.
My older son has been spending the past 3 months working in a summer camp for French kids--the kids speak nothing but English the entire time they are there. Before that, he taught English to French high school kids who were going into the hospitality industry.
Every tourist I've met here in northern Florida, whether French, German, Belgian or whatever, has spoken beautiful English, not just pathetic, halting little phrases like my attempts at other languages.
How many non-U.S. citizens have you met?
As Visvaldis says, many, if not most, European citizens have at least some working knowledge of English.
My older son has been spending the past 3 months working in a summer camp for French kids--the kids speak nothing but English the entire time they are there. Before that, he taught English to French high school kids who were going into the hospitality industry.
Every tourist I've met here in northern Florida, whether French, German, Belgian or whatever, has spoken beautiful English, not just pathetic, halting little phrases like my attempts at other languages.
But they aren't learning english to be considerate. They are learning it because it is the universal language. If we spoke Mayan, and english remained the universal lanuage, they wouldn't go out of their way to learn mayan for the purpose of being courteous. There's a diffrence between learning out of neccessity or to be courteous.
Location: Louisville KY but moving to Springfield MO
20 posts, read 89,244 times
Reputation: 38
Learning a Few Words of a Language Out of Courtesy
I agree with you guys that most people who are visiting a foreign country don't take the time to learn a few basic words in the native language. Personally, as an a American, I think its rude for Hispanic people to come into the United States and not make an attempt to learn at least some English. When I travel, I always try to learn at least a few basic phrases in the native language. You'll find that people will act in a much friendlier manner towards you as a foreigner in their country, if you make an attempt to speak a few words in their language. At the very least its a fun thing to do. Having a mind geared towards English and French, means that I have a really hard time pronouncing Mandarin Chinese! I absolutely butcher some basic Chinese phrases, but I at least tried to say them when I went to China. Even though I butchered the Chinese phrases I was trying to say, I didn't make any enemies in China, and there were smiles and laughs all around. Most importantly, I have a lot of fun trying to learn a few phrases in the native language when I travel!
Have to agree with the FrenchAmerican as well as Visvaldis.
The French have always struck me as more reserved and perhaps a bit more formal than those of us from the Anglosphere. Nothing wrong with that and it can actually be refreshing. I have memorized several phrases in French and that, plus my huge but sincere grin, always served me well. I hit plenty of linguistic roadblocks, but that is part of the fun.
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You're Right Moth
