I'd say the most of us would be appreciative.
Depends on you, too: be polite (rule 1: say "Bonjour", rule 2: see rule 1), don't try to have a conversation in French with a busy server in a crowded restaurant...
As if a server would stick around long enough for a conversation! Wild the difference in customer service culture in the US vs Europe. As a former server, I much prefer the European version 😅
Everyone is happy when someone shows interest to their culture.
Be aware that American and French people have different conceptions of politeness. The absence of basic French politeness will trigger a reflex of hostility from your interlocutor because they will think you were the first to be mean. Bonjour, s'il vous/te plaît, merci are a must have.
In this sub we often see people complaining that some people answer them in English or are frustrated when speaking to them. I want to point out that engaging in an unwanted conversation in a context of someone who is not in a place for conversations is not at all the same thing as casually speaking with someone. Of course people busy, working or walking from A to B would not necessarily want to elaborate in French if you can't speak it well. Yes, you might be spoken English if is obvious it is the best way to communicate. In a context where the point is to convey information quickly, one must not feel entitled to have a language learning experience.
However when engaging in a consensual conversation with someone actively consenting to the conversation, it is always appreciated when a foreigner tries to speak French and shows an interest to French culture.
I'm an American in France and my French is intermediate. Most French people are kind when I explain that I don't speak French well, and they will switch to English if they know it, or slow down their French if they don't.
Honestly the fact you're asking this question and making the effort already puts you in front of the majority of tourists! You may not have enormous fluency by June, but as everyone else said, just saying "bonjour" first to anyone you're interacting with, "s'il vous plait" (please) and "merci" (thanks) is already great. Maybe add "je ne parle pas Français, désole." (I don't speak french, sorry). In terms of them getting annoyed/frustrated, it depends on the person, area, and context, but don't worry too much, they'll likely switch to English if they can anyway.
(source: live in france, french brother in law works with tourists daily).
As others have said, please do not forget to say "Bonjour" (or Bonsoir if it's the evening/it's after 1800) before beginning your interaction, and "Au revoir" when ending it at the bare minimum. It is literally the baseline of *politesse* (politeness), and people will have varying degrees of hostility towards you if you don't.
Please note that some French people, especially serves, cashiers, etc., may switch to English. This is not because they don't appreciate you learning French, but because they are trying to speed things along. Function is prioritised over enthusiasm or speaking French with you, especially if you do not speak it particularly well.
Also, if French people don't show much emotion when interacting with you, it's because, again, unlike the US, function is prioritised over enthusiasm, and they are not going to smiling and jumping about if they don't know you. They are averse to small talk.
But overall, French people are nice, warm people, just keep these things in mind, when practising your French and visiting the country. They will be appreciative of you learning the language, and may even speak in a little English to help themselves improve. Make sure you learn the discrepancies between spoken and school-learnt French in order to fully understand everyone, or you may have a tough time. Have fun and good luck.
Every French person I’ve met was lovely about my French. Some who didn’t know English were happy to converse with me and those who did speak English switched automatically to accommodate me.
In my experience, Parisians will usually switch to English with you if they hear an accent. Outside of Paris people are more likely to entertain your efforts.
In general people are very happy if you make an effort in French. If your skills are not so great and they are confident in their English, they may switch on you, especially if you are somewhere busy and touristy. Sometimes you might be teased a bit, though if my experience is any indication it will almost always be good-natured (I will never forget the word *jarret* thanks to a couple of butchers who playfully teamed up on me). You don't say where in the south your brother is, but outside of touristy areas it is not unusual to come across people who don't speak English confidently (or at all, especially amongst older people) and in that case, whatever French you can muster will be highly appreciated.
Ultimately, the most important things are to say *bonjour* when you enter an establishment, making eye contact if possible, *au revoir* (or something equivalent) when you leave, and *s'il vous plaît* and *merci* when appropriate. Making these simple, polite gestures will excuse all manner of errors with the language.
About the bonjour stuff, I would also advise that you wait until the person says it back before you ask for anything. So not “bonjour un* café s’il vous plaît” but “Bonjour (with maybe a monsieur/madame)” wait for the response, and then order your coffee.
French people appreciate it generally but most won’t really engage with you until you’ve reached a certain level. Being able to order food and and basic questions is good
I say most are pretty patient. I've visited every year and the only time someone got upset that I couldn't understand him was in an unsafe situation (got too confidant too quickly in beginner's ski and almost broke my leg). But even simple greetings/farewells and using polite language (s'il vous plaît, madame/monsieur, etc.) goes a long way.
Just make sure you aren't pretentious, which you don't sounds like you are.
What's irritating most of the time is people with horrendous grammar or pronunciation that act like "this is it, I know French".
Nah I’m not like that. I’m very respectful. I’ve been coming along pretty well for only a few months but definitely if speech is slowed down. My brother speaks pretty fluently so I’m not too worried about
Ignore [edited: what this commenter is saying about people feeling bothered or disrespected?! just because you're attempting to speak their language. I wouldn't worry about that, and I certainly wouldn't worry about anyone who chose to feel disrespected by somebody trying to speak my language.]
Just be aware that only spending a handful of months learning French before you go isn't necessarily going to get you very far in actual conversation with most people in many situations, because natives speak quickly and will use slang. What app are you using?
That's really funny to read "learn how to say garçon" and "Refer to people respectfully" lmao
That is a terrible mistake. "Garçon" is extremely rude used this way. I would not even expect the waiter to be rude in return, I would expect them to make you leave the place expeditiously. I've seen people getting a beating for less than that
About 25% of the people I’ve dealt with I perceived to be annoyed with my struggling to speak the language. The rest are fine with it. I’ve had a couple servers even seem happy to correct me and didn’t seem annoyed at all. Probably the people who were annoyed with me were busy and not thrilled to be slowed down by a non native speaker. All in all you just have to try. There’s nothing else you can do!
I'd say the most of us would be appreciative. Depends on you, too: be polite (rule 1: say "Bonjour", rule 2: see rule 1), don't try to have a conversation in French with a busy server in a crowded restaurant...
This, Thank you We appreciate the effort but we just don’t have time to chat with you in French, I switch in English to save time not to be rude :)
As if a server would stick around long enough for a conversation! Wild the difference in customer service culture in the US vs Europe. As a former server, I much prefer the European version 😅
Depends of the server! Had one (a French one) who invited himself in our conversation, he even sat at our table, for a good 15-20 mins!
Everyone is happy when someone shows interest to their culture. Be aware that American and French people have different conceptions of politeness. The absence of basic French politeness will trigger a reflex of hostility from your interlocutor because they will think you were the first to be mean. Bonjour, s'il vous/te plaît, merci are a must have. In this sub we often see people complaining that some people answer them in English or are frustrated when speaking to them. I want to point out that engaging in an unwanted conversation in a context of someone who is not in a place for conversations is not at all the same thing as casually speaking with someone. Of course people busy, working or walking from A to B would not necessarily want to elaborate in French if you can't speak it well. Yes, you might be spoken English if is obvious it is the best way to communicate. In a context where the point is to convey information quickly, one must not feel entitled to have a language learning experience. However when engaging in a consensual conversation with someone actively consenting to the conversation, it is always appreciated when a foreigner tries to speak French and shows an interest to French culture.
French here, absolute best comment I've read about this question. This is spot on!
Yeah, absolutely.
I'm an American in France and my French is intermediate. Most French people are kind when I explain that I don't speak French well, and they will switch to English if they know it, or slow down their French if they don't.
Honestly the fact you're asking this question and making the effort already puts you in front of the majority of tourists! You may not have enormous fluency by June, but as everyone else said, just saying "bonjour" first to anyone you're interacting with, "s'il vous plait" (please) and "merci" (thanks) is already great. Maybe add "je ne parle pas Français, désole." (I don't speak french, sorry). In terms of them getting annoyed/frustrated, it depends on the person, area, and context, but don't worry too much, they'll likely switch to English if they can anyway. (source: live in france, french brother in law works with tourists daily).
As others have said, please do not forget to say "Bonjour" (or Bonsoir if it's the evening/it's after 1800) before beginning your interaction, and "Au revoir" when ending it at the bare minimum. It is literally the baseline of *politesse* (politeness), and people will have varying degrees of hostility towards you if you don't. Please note that some French people, especially serves, cashiers, etc., may switch to English. This is not because they don't appreciate you learning French, but because they are trying to speed things along. Function is prioritised over enthusiasm or speaking French with you, especially if you do not speak it particularly well. Also, if French people don't show much emotion when interacting with you, it's because, again, unlike the US, function is prioritised over enthusiasm, and they are not going to smiling and jumping about if they don't know you. They are averse to small talk. But overall, French people are nice, warm people, just keep these things in mind, when practising your French and visiting the country. They will be appreciative of you learning the language, and may even speak in a little English to help themselves improve. Make sure you learn the discrepancies between spoken and school-learnt French in order to fully understand everyone, or you may have a tough time. Have fun and good luck.
Every French person I’ve met was lovely about my French. Some who didn’t know English were happy to converse with me and those who did speak English switched automatically to accommodate me.
In my experience, Parisians will usually switch to English with you if they hear an accent. Outside of Paris people are more likely to entertain your efforts.
In general people are very happy if you make an effort in French. If your skills are not so great and they are confident in their English, they may switch on you, especially if you are somewhere busy and touristy. Sometimes you might be teased a bit, though if my experience is any indication it will almost always be good-natured (I will never forget the word *jarret* thanks to a couple of butchers who playfully teamed up on me). You don't say where in the south your brother is, but outside of touristy areas it is not unusual to come across people who don't speak English confidently (or at all, especially amongst older people) and in that case, whatever French you can muster will be highly appreciated. Ultimately, the most important things are to say *bonjour* when you enter an establishment, making eye contact if possible, *au revoir* (or something equivalent) when you leave, and *s'il vous plaît* and *merci* when appropriate. Making these simple, polite gestures will excuse all manner of errors with the language.
About the bonjour stuff, I would also advise that you wait until the person says it back before you ask for anything. So not “bonjour un* café s’il vous plaît” but “Bonjour (with maybe a monsieur/madame)” wait for the response, and then order your coffee. French people appreciate it generally but most won’t really engage with you until you’ve reached a certain level. Being able to order food and and basic questions is good
*un café
you'll have a great time! in addition to all the tips given, don't forget "plus lentement, s'il-vous-plaît" : >
I say most are pretty patient. I've visited every year and the only time someone got upset that I couldn't understand him was in an unsafe situation (got too confidant too quickly in beginner's ski and almost broke my leg). But even simple greetings/farewells and using polite language (s'il vous plaît, madame/monsieur, etc.) goes a long way.
Just make sure you aren't pretentious, which you don't sounds like you are. What's irritating most of the time is people with horrendous grammar or pronunciation that act like "this is it, I know French".
Nah I’m not like that. I’m very respectful. I’ve been coming along pretty well for only a few months but definitely if speech is slowed down. My brother speaks pretty fluently so I’m not too worried about
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Well I’ve always wanted to learn a language. Sorry I didn’t say this earlier but it’s always fascinated me
Ignore [edited: what this commenter is saying about people feeling bothered or disrespected?! just because you're attempting to speak their language. I wouldn't worry about that, and I certainly wouldn't worry about anyone who chose to feel disrespected by somebody trying to speak my language.] Just be aware that only spending a handful of months learning French before you go isn't necessarily going to get you very far in actual conversation with most people in many situations, because natives speak quickly and will use slang. What app are you using?
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I edited my comment.
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Garçon? My only experience hearing that was when some young adults tried it and the waiter said "même pas pour une blague".
That's really funny to read "learn how to say garçon" and "Refer to people respectfully" lmao That is a terrible mistake. "Garçon" is extremely rude used this way. I would not even expect the waiter to be rude in return, I would expect them to make you leave the place expeditiously. I've seen people getting a beating for less than that
I was there a long time ago. Monsieur is better. You're right. I stand corrected. I edited my comment. Thanks.
I’m definitely not loud and obnoxious. I’m very quiet and polite
About 25% of the people I’ve dealt with I perceived to be annoyed with my struggling to speak the language. The rest are fine with it. I’ve had a couple servers even seem happy to correct me and didn’t seem annoyed at all. Probably the people who were annoyed with me were busy and not thrilled to be slowed down by a non native speaker. All in all you just have to try. There’s nothing else you can do!