The Rude French (developed, names, Europeans, compared)
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If you go to France and don't make any effort to speak the language then expect rudeness. Common sense.
People will speak English at 100% of the places any American tourist is likely to visit in France. Employers will often conduct job interviews in English for kids looking to get jobs at stores like Desigual, Celio, Starbucks, the Gap, etc. Even if you attempt to speak French, your American accent will be a dead giveaway and they'll just respond to you in English.
French students are now taking English at much earlier ages. And they pick up a lot more English because of the influence of American mass media. Kanye West and Jay-Z, for example, performed their hit "N***** in Paris" 11 times in a row before a Paris crowd. When you listen to so much music in English, and watch so much film in English, it's easier to pick up the language.
Then there's also the fact that younger French view English as a means of making it to England or the States and attaining a better life.
People will speak English at 100% of the places any American tourist is likely to visit in France. Employers will often conduct job interviews in English for kids looking to get jobs at stores like Desigual, Celio, Starbucks, the Gap, etc. Even if you attempt to speak French, your American accent will be a dead giveaway and they'll just respond to you in English.
French students are now taking English at much earlier ages. And they pick up a lot more English because of the influence of American mass media. Kanye West and Jay-Z, for example, performed their hit "N***** in Paris" 11 times in a row before a Paris crowd. When you listen to so much music in English, and watch so much film in English, it's easier to pick up the language.
Not entirely true, unless one just goes to the most obvious tourist destinations in Paris. In much of France in many situations one must know some French to communicate. While younger French might know more English these days, the French as a whole haven't picked up as much of English as a second language as most of their neighboring countries.
A lot of English language movies and TV shows are still dubbed into French as well rather than sub-titled.
In Germanic or Scandanavian countires you can basically get by with speaking English exclusively(your average German or Dutch or Swedish person speaks English more clearly and understandable than a good chunk of the American populace). In France and other Romance-language countries, I'd say you need to know the language to some level if you're going to be there for any extended period of time or travel outside the most typical locations.
Wrong and ignorant on your part. In Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, & Egypt they all made an effort at communication even though we did not speak each other's language. I went to France knowing some French and made an effort at communicating, but I was still met with their ugly attitude.
Judging by your attitude here, I'm not surprised they were rude to you.
People will speak English at 100% of the places any American tourist is likely to visit in France. Employers will often conduct job interviews in English for kids looking to get jobs at stores like Desigual, Celio, Starbucks, the Gap, etc. Even if you attempt to speak French, your American accent will be a dead giveaway and they'll just respond to you in English.
French students are now taking English at much earlier ages. And they pick up a lot more English because of the influence of American mass media. Kanye West and Jay-Z, for example, performed their hit "N***** in Paris" 11 times in a row before a Paris crowd. When you listen to so much music in English, and watch so much film in English, it's easier to pick up the language.
Then there's also the fact that younger French view English as a means of making it to England or the States and attaining a better life.
A better life? That's highly subjective and depends what you want out of life.
Some may know a bit more on this score so tell me if the French are say 'rude' then arguably how this stand to those in say Normandy where I'd think the French and Americans have a mutual admiration society. Or have things changed so drastically since the war??
Not entirely true, unless one just goes to the most obvious tourist destinations in Paris.
The same applies to restaurants and retail stores, which are the places Americans are going to go in Paris. If you can't speak English, then you stand basically no chance of getting any type of job dealing with customers. The guy at the front desk of your hotel, the cashier at Monoprix, the waiter at your restaurant, and the girl behind the desk at Desigual all speak English. Even the cab drivers will have some basic knowledge of English. Nearly all of the restaurants have an English menu where you can simply point at your item of choice. About the only French many American tourists will ever know is "Merci." Paris is a well-lubricated tourist machine designed to suck money out of the pockets of Brits, Candadians and Americans.
Now if you're going to the Carrefour in Le Blanc Mesnil with North and West African immigrants, then it's a completely different story. But again, you're not going to see any Americans there. Just like you're not going to see any foreign tourists at Wal-Mart in the Maryland suburbs.
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Originally Posted by Deezus
In much of France in many situations one must know some French to communicate. While younger French might know more English these days, the French as a whole haven't picked up as much of English as a second language as most of their neighboring countries.
Like where? Only Germany has a higher percentage and number of English speakers than France.
A lot of English language movies and TV shows are still dubbed into French as well rather than sub-titled.
That's true, but that wasn't my point. If Rihanna is your favorite singer, then you're naturally going to look up the translation for her lyrics. And you pick up a lot of English by simply consuming a lot of American media. Americans don't have that luxury because we only listen to Anglophone artists.
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Originally Posted by Deezus
In Germanic or Scandanavian countires you can basically get by with speaking English exclusively(your average German or Dutch or Swedish person speaks English more clearly and understandable than a good chunk of the American populace). In France and other Romance-language countries, I'd say you need to know the language to some level if you're going to be there for any extended period of time or travel outside the most typical locations.
I've never lived in Germany. Only in France for a year as a high school student (which is more difficult, imo, than studying abroad in college, which I also did). As a tourist in Paris, you don't need to know any French at all, which is why so many millions of people are capable of visiting the city each year.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 11-26-2013 at 11:23 AM..
A better life? That's highly subjective and depends what you want out of life.
Isn't this a typical City-Data response?
There are certainly many younger French people who are perfectly happy in France. But many see learning English as their ticket out. And this is particularly true for the children of African and Arab immigrants.
The irony is that African Americans are viewed as somewhat of a model-minority in France (whereas African and Caribbean immigrants are often viewed more favorably than AAs in the U.S.). An African American with advanced degrees in Paris can enjoy semi-rock star status.
Last edited by BajanYankee; 11-26-2013 at 11:42 AM..
Jodie Foster speaks French about as well as an American can. But she also attended a francophone high school in Los Angeles and lived in Paris for brief stints.
The same applies to restaurants and retail stores, which are the places Americans are going to go in Paris. If you can't speak English, then you stand basically no chance of getting any type of job dealing with customers. The guy at the front desk of your hotel, the cashier at Monoprix, the waiter at your restaurant, and the girl behind the desk at Desigual all speak English. Even the cab drivers will have some basic knowledge of English. Nearly all of the restaurants have an English menu where you can simply point at your item of choice. About the only French many American tourists will ever know is "Merci." Paris is a well-lubricated tourist machine designed to suck money out of the pockets of Brits, Candadians and Americans.
Now if you're going to the Carrefour in Le Blanc Mesnil with North and West African immigrants, then it's a completely different story. But again, you're not going to see any Americans there. Just like you're not going to see any foreign tourists at Wal-Mart in the Maryland suburbs.
I'm not simply talking about Paris and tourist joints. From my experience travelling in France over the last 17 year(and a brief stay of close to a month in southeast France when I was 19), I've found that once one gets out in the provinces--or even in the occasional neighborhood restaurant or bar in Paris, I often had to communicate in French. There wasn't always someone who knew much English and it became a test to whether my fairly basic level of French from three years in High School and living in Canada was more applicable to converse than someone else's very low level of English(or often no English). On the other hand the French unlike the Spanish-speaking countries I've travelled to, would rather speak English if they know it if you have a low level of French knowledge--they aren't in the mood for you to practice your French.
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Like where? Only Germany has a higher percentage and number of English speakers than France.
I was thinking more in terms of Western Europe as a whole in terms of neighbors, but Germany(64 percent), Switzerland(61.28 percent), Belgium(59 percent), and Luxembourg(56 percent) as neighbors of France all have higher levels of English speakers than France(39 percent). I'm suprised that the data for Germany only has 64 percent, though it's most likely lower in the former East German sections. When you look at the percentage for the Netherlands, they have as high a percentage as the US itself in that list. The Scandinavian countries are about 85-90 percent in terms of English speakers, aloand a place like Austria has 73 percent. France ranks below places like Greece, Croatia, Estonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in terms of Europe for percentage of English speakers.
Of course Germanic speaking countries will have an easier time adapting to English--plus more of a need to learn a common tongue among the smaller nations(also very common now among the Eastern European nations). And the Romance-speaking neighbors of France, have a lower percentage of English speakers than they do and have an easier time speaking the other Latin languages(though I've seen amusing incidents when despite the similarity of Italian and Spanish, the Italians refused to speak Spanish to Spanish travellers or didn't know enough and both spoke English instead).
And it's not to say that younger French and a proportion of the population don't learn English or can't speak it to some degree(or that it might be increasing), but in general, from my experience, they French feel less cultural pressure to learn English fluently compared to some other nations. The rise of English as a second language in Europe is still a relatively recent trend.
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That's true, but that wasn't my point. If Rihanna is your favorite singer, then you're naturally going to look up the translation for her lyrics. And you pick up a lot of English by simply consuming a lot of American media. Americans don't have that luxury because we only listen to Anglophone artists.
Probably true, but much more so amongst the young.
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I've never lived in Germany. Only in France for a year as a high school student (which is more difficult, imo, than studying abroad in college, which I also did). As a tourist in Paris, you don't need to know any French at all, which is why so many millions of people are capable of visiting the city each year.
That's true though travelling around the French countryside or many of the smaller cities can be a different experience than some touristy spot on Montmartre. Yes, plenty of people just go to Paris for a few days to see the Louvre and Eiffel Tower and that's the extent of their trip--but for anyone travelling around France any further, I'd still say it's difficult to get by with no knowledge of French at all. But one should make an effort to know the language, at least a little bit of anywhere they're travelling. I learned several phrases in Korean and enough words to at least order food and beers in Korea for a week. Likewise I've been thankful to know enough French to make it through some other Francophone countries or regions in addition to France.
I'm not simply talking about Paris and tourist joints.
Well, nearly the whole entire city of Paris is a "tourist joint." You could go to Château d'Eau and find a number of Senegalese and Cameroonian merchants who hardly speak a word of English (and who will also give you a steep discount on hair weaves and wigs). But for the most part, the city is full of businesses that probably generate half of their revenue from English-speaking tourists. So they're highly motivated to ensure that they can service customers in English. That's why so many service industry employers make English proficiency a requirement.
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Originally Posted by Deezus
From my experience travelling in France over the last 17 year(and a brief stay of close to a month in southeast France when I was 19), I've found that once one gets out in the provinces--or even in the occasional neighborhood restaurant or bar in Paris, I often had to communicate in French.
I'm thinking about the places an American tourist is likely to go. I mean, there are transplants who have lived in Manhattan for years who have never been to the Bronx, Queens (aside from the airport) or deep into Brooklyn. When I lived in DC, I knew several people who were downright petrified to go to a black neighborhood. So what are the odds that these people, many of whom are the "elite" who are able to finance European vacations, are going to step out of their comfort zones and visit Drancy, Aulnay-sous-Bois, etc? The overwhelming majority are not going to unchartered territory where few people like them have ever ventured before.
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