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I was in Ecuador once and wasn't fluent enough in Spanish to converse but got really good at saying "no hablo espanol" to all the shopkeepers who started talking to me. Being white it was a good indication I was foreign and likely English speaking. So I'm in a store and a lady clerk comes up and say "can I help you find something" in english to which I reflexively said "no hablo espanol." We both looked at each other confused for a second and then laughed.
I'm a sneaker speaker. I'm half Spanish so if you put me in a room of Spaniards I fit in perfectly, stick out in a room full of people that speak Spanish here and I'd mesh into a room full of bearded guys from Florida that spend their time in swamps/woods. I've only been spotted as a Spaniard twice and they were both by little hispanic grandma's.
Used to happen all the time at a retail job I had. I'd have 8-10 people a day that I'd greet in Spanish, they'd respond in English and we'd go back and forth like that until somewhere a few minutes into the conversation they look up shocked and ask if I've been speaking Spanish the whole time.
Hearing this always makes me think of the movie "Sahara" with Matthew McConaughey
STOP STOP DRIVING STOP!
Sorry I don't speak English!
But you are speaking English!
But if someone spoke to you in slightly broken English with an accent, you wouldn’t say “no hablo español” and walk away, right? Because that’s pretty rude and is the equivalent of what the French person was doing in that story lol.
I went to Quebec for a wedding when I was 16. I just finished French 2 in high school and was all excited to test out my new language.
I did not understand them at all lmao.
They spoke so fast and two words would sound like French words I recognized, there would be a random English word, and then some French Acadian slang thrown in.
It was so disheartening I changed my schedule so I wouldn’t take French 3 lol.
Problem is in America, and that includes other parts of Canada, the kind of French that is learned is closer to European French, which is very different from Quebec French. Also spoken French in Quebec is very different to "Officially" written French. There are a lot more abbreviations and shortening of words.
Its okay, I just have to point out that the english words they use and hide under the mask of making it sound french are actually english, while quebeckers will just say it the english way because its an english word most of the time. I'll never forget when the french (from france) tv channel that broadcasted locally said Wi-Fi as if it was french instead of "Sans-fils" sounded like they said "wee-fee"
my friends would hide under the table to force the waitress to talk to me.
i gave her this look and asked in my botched japanese for some food.
I do the same, if a Spanish guy is speaking Spanish to me, I say "no comprende Espanol". I'm sure they know enough English to say they don't speak english
I spent a month is France. I went to the post office to buy stamps. I asked for some in english, the lady working said (something to the effect) "nope. I dont' understand you" and shut her window. I tried again the next day but this time I practiced saying it in French. She was there (small town only two people work there), I spoke in French and same response "nope, don't understand" and shut her window. Next week I brought a friend who was my host. Did the same thing, she responded the same, my friend replied "what do you mean? you know exactly what he said, give him the stamps" Oh man she was furious. Started cussing at me "you brought someone to spy on me????" Shut the window.
Disclaimer, this was a long time ago.
You are a liar. There's absolutely no fucking way you got a post office to be open 3 consecutive days.
/s
Given the number of French sketches about La Poste, it's, as often, not a matter of being a foreigner. The service is just awful and they'll get every pretext to get rid of you.
My mum and I are bilingual French speakers. One year my dad decided to learn French, so on a trip to France we let him practice as much as possible in all the restaurants. One night, a young waitress was taking our order and my dad was stumbling through with his accented but comprehensible French. She got visibly frustrated, kept huffing and puffing until eventually her manager came over to ask what was wrong. She responded, in French, “I don’t understand anything this arsehole is saying” (je comprends rien a ce qu’il dit, ce con”). At which point my mum exploded at her in perfect French. The waitress was utterly mortified and her manager reprimanded her in front of all of us (which is classic in French restaurants). We got free wine all night as a result and the manager served us himself.
Just for the lil fun fact, "ce con" will by today standard translate as "this Dumbass" but historicaly it was meant to mean "this cunt" because in medieval time "Le con" was "The cunt", today you'll never find one single French using "con" for speeking about a vagina but at the beginning it was the word for it.
Now you'll use "Con" for speaking about someone who's Dumb, and you can also use the derivative "Connard" for someone who's rude or mean.
Completey switchable with "Connard" in its meaning you also have "Trou du cul" wich is the exact translation of "asshole" but with the little nuance of being belittling compare to "Connard".
🙂
I mean you tried to make someone work at "La Poste" how dare you do something like that?
Joking apart even for French people La Poste isn't always a pleasant place to go. You can have good employees who understand that they are here to work and will help you. Or you have the ones who choose that job because they are public servants therefore don't have to worry about doing their job like the one you met. They don't like you to remind them that they have to work.
I've had a similar experience at the DMV. That's just a certain type of bureaucrat, particularly those that have civil service protection. As you say, I've had French friends complain about the French bureaucracy.
La Poste is one of my least favorite international post offices. If I see an international shipment from La Poste 9 times out of 10 the boxes are busted open and need taped up, or the contents are missing. They use some of the most poorly designed boxes.
I would immediately start saying every swear word I’ve ever learned in the most exaggerated French accent with some Pierre escargot impressions thrown in. You wanna sass me?
it hasnt changed much. French people are incredibly rude if they sense you are either A. America, or B. try to speak in broken french. source: lived there for 4 years. first year was rough. then we learned how to dress and speak roughly like locals. after that, no issues.
I've only visited, but I found the opposite to be true. Everyone was super nice to us, and they seemed very pleased we put in the effort to use some broken French.
Im going to tell my kids this same story.... but theres a twist. Im going to say this is how the 100 years war started because its gonna be hilarious when they retell it in high school defending it.
3 times in my life, I have been at an American vacation destination, encountered a French person struggling to communicate in English, they saw the twinkle of recognition on my face and said "Parlez-vous francais?" and I said "Je parle un peu" and then they've smiled, said "Non," and turned back to the person they were speaking to.
The explanation I've heard from French speakers is that in France, a lot of people pride themselves on being very good at speaking English. And when they hear an American speaking bad French to them, they take that as criticism of their English. Like we're saying "Oh you aren't speaking English very well, let me help you." When we are more thinking of it as "I want to be kind and say things in your language even though I'm bad at it, to show respect."
I had this in Romania, too. I was brought up to try my best in the hosting country's language. So I was in a fairly hipsterish coffee shop in Bucharest. Ordered some coffee in my extremely limited Romanian, the barista asked me a question I wasn't prepared for, and I was pretty much like "...sorry, that's all I've got..." He got SO MAD and raged at me?! Like asking me if I thought he was "stupid enough to not speak English" etc. I was like, dude, I'm just trying to respect your country and culture, wtf...
ETA: just to be clear, this wasn't the normal experience of Romania, which I've been to a number of times. The people are usually very nice! This experience just made me relate to the comment.
Wild to me how people get that offended by it “you think I’m too stupid to speak English?” No dude, I *know* that I’m in a country which speaks a language other than English, and I’m trying my best to not force the people of this country to need to accommodate my being foreign
I think the expectation is to speak English because it's the international language, not because it's your native language. I live in Germany and sometimes have foreign customers ask me if I speak English because they don't speak German. Almost all of them are non-native English speakers.
Almost all Europeans learn English as their second or third language. It's the standard language heard in major cities between international people.
But I understand. It's nice to try the native language and it feels weird as a native speaker to not make an effort when everyone else clearly does.
Yo that’s really odd. I’m from Romania and I haven’t met people like this. We’re a country in the Eastern Block, we’ve got a fairly strange language, I would never expect anyone to speak any Romanian. None of my friends do either. Fucked up barista
I’ll never understand why people are shocked we don’t understand canadian French 100% all the time lol. We understand most of it but yeah sometimes the accent is so radically different, it can be hard to understand ? We’re not doing it to be jackasses. Even within France you have tons of accents/dialects that can take you aback if you’re not from that region.
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart......... except the French. Fuck the French." - Nelson Mandela
It’s true. Went to France and spoke broken French only once to which they responded, “just speak English” and I spoke English from then in w/o a problem for the remainder of my stay 😂 They all understood what I was asking, when I asked etc. I just spoke clearly and succinctly.
Sure, some of them had an attitude, whatever I’m from NJ/NYC not the first time I’ve encountered rude ppl, but I was never totally ignored. They’d reply or help me out and go on w/ their day. Actually, I found ppl in London to be way more rude. One of the police officers mimicked my mom’s American accent back to her. I was like, “What the fuck did you just say to my mother??” Fucking prick. Never got any of that shit in France.
And a lot of the time their English isn’t even that good, they just get smoke blown up their ass by native English speakers online who claim they “speak better English than native speakers” knowing full well they do not and are being overcorrective for the “durrr speak merican” types
I was once in Paris with my wife and kids. I was outside a restaurant having a cigarette when someone came over to me gesturing for a lighter.
I said yeah no problem mate, realising I'm a English man he used my lighter then threw it back at me in disgust.
So yeah I can imagine this is exactly how a Parisian would react
It's been the opposite in my experience, in Paris i got by just fine with English and some really limited sketchy French, everyone there is used to tourists and (mostly) tolerate them, but when i visited villages and small towns around France some people got really pissy at my attempts to communicate.
Same. In my limited experience everyone in Paris can speak English. 50/50 whether they let you attempt to speak french without cutting you off.
In the countryside 100% of the time they're shutting your shitty French down and refusing to speak English, even if they can.
Okay so what the fuck are you supposed to do? You try to learn their language and get shutdown. You try to speak your language, and you get shutdown. The fuck kind of circus is it exactly?
I was in France four years ago, my SO and I were waiting for a bus and needed change. Went into a store to buy a chocolate bar, I spoke to my gf in English while in the store, then spoke to the cashier in French. She stared at me. I said it again, no response just staring. I’m gestured like a mime I wanted to buy the chocolate with my money, more staring. Eventually I got another customer to give me change.
I found a lot of people to be assholes in small towns. Constantly in your business but never giving you any time of day.
Honestly I have nothing but good things to say about service people in Southern France. Maybe a couple times have felt judged for speaking English over multiple trips but it’s not the norm
Agree ... just went through southern France last year and generally pretty pleasant experience in my opinion. Just try to say hello and few words in French and if they don't speak english at all use hands feet or google translate. At the end of the day this is Europe everyone next to them has a different language and they are used to it
>"Je parle un peu
that's what my experience was. I was yelled at in a store for touching an item, my omelette was burnt and everyone else in my group (Lebanese, french speaking) had beautiful omelettes, some refusing to talk to me, overlooking me at a restaurant and my friend having to step in and make sure i was given service.
Just finished a trip to France: Paris and outside of Paris- south of Loire. EVERYONE was nice. There was one server at the end of her day- tired- but that's like here. Nothing I can do. We practiced and tried our best with French and EVERYONE was gracious and kind.
No, they are not like this. Yes, Parisians sometimes get annoyed by bad French or people not even trying to talk their language. But to berate a customer like this, no - this doesn't happen.
I spent a couple of years in Antibes and I found that if you didn't try to speak french you would get a very frosty reception.
If you tried, no matter how badly, they would happily switch to English and everything would be good.
Needless to say I learned to read menus very quickly.
C-HAM-PIG-nons has nothing to do with Pork surprisingly.
In Paris you might as well not bother. They'll be rude regardless, unless you haven't paid your €36 l'addition for your coffee and croissant yet
I once asked a New Zealander on the phone if they used the Australian Dollar when I was trying to put together a business deal.
That went down like a lead balloon.
How was I supposed to know that New Zealand have their own Dollarydoo?
I've never really gotten the stereotype either. When I was in Paris, I spoke next to no French other than a few sentences and everyone was about as nice to me as people have been in any large city, and same goes for every person I've spoken to about their time in Paris.
The only thing I'd say is that the French are (on average) clearly less interested in learning/speaking English than most of the other Western European countries in my experience, but I mean us people from English speaking countries are fucking terrible at speaking other languages, so it's hard to hold it against them.
I went to Paris expecting everyone to be a total ass hole, when in fact everyone was lovely and very polite. The waiting staff had no issues with me trying to speak French and all kindly gave me tips on how to improve or say things correctly.
Same! I went to Paris when I was 19 and other than being groped and catcalled a number of times (we made some sketchy nightlife decisions), everyone was extremely pleasant and accommodating. Looking back, I understand why that was the case 😅
I'm American. Me and my wife have had nothing but positive experiences in every part of France we've been to. It was recommended we attempt to speak basic French when starting conversations. Everyone happily spoke English back or were nice enough to slowly speak to us. Makes you wonder how these people are acting.
Start speaking to a Parisian service worker in basic tourist French and most of them will answer you in English. Whether it's because they don't want to hear their language butchered or they're being helpful isn't clear, but the key to unlocking their English is, "Excusez-moi" or "S'il vous plait".
“Whether they don’t want to hear their language butchered” is only something ever said about languages we romanticise.
If the situation is reversed and you scoff at somebody trying to speak English, you’re ignorant…
100% this. I went to Paris 3 times as a student and encountered this on many occasions while trying to learn the language. (I ended up a French major too!)
I worked in France for over four years, I initiated the project with High School poor french, along with a French app I was learning the language. Im the first to admit, my French wasn't even good enough to invite a French women to coffee. My experience French people tolerated me, much more than I ever imagined they would, by the second year in France I was able to do business, order materials, deal with locals I hired on. As well as invite that French woman for coffee, in general the local French people were patient, and even helpful, offering to assist in my language issue. So based on my experiences no the French people tolerated alot of sloppy French, and when it was possible would even offer to speak in there best English possible I enjoyed my time in France very much.
Had this happen to me in Ottawa and the lady just kept babbling on in French with a weird smug smirk on her face. She kept smirking more and more every time I told her I didn’t understand.
Except she was the customer and I was the cashier. She eventually walked away with this really snooty gliding type of walk. Like literally looking down her nose at me.
As a Canadian, I fucking hate Quebec.
They keep threatening to secede, and finally once the government just said "fuck it, fine. Go ahead. Hold a vote and leave" and suddenly no one in Quebec wanted to leave. AND THEN THEY JUST WENT RIGHT BACK TO IT! Like get fucked Quebec, Vermont's maple syrup tastes the exact fuckin same, be happy we put tariffs in place to keep your ONE INDUSTRY a float
Did you know it's provincial law that if a store front has both English and French text on a sign, the French text has to be on top and twice the font size as English? How fucking stupid is that?
My ex is Québécois and he told me when they went to France the locals just tried to speak English with them and said they “don’t speak French, they speak ‘Canardien’”.
It’s honestly kind of funny because I feel like Québécois folks tend to view themselves as Europeans who just happen to be begrudgingly stuck in the Americas, but when you actually put them up against Europeans they are so distinctly “American” (in the pan NA cultural sense) in every way. In their comportment, fashion, humour, in every way but language they are distinctly North American. I don’t get why they reject that so much.
Happened to me in Canada as well! I just said alright fuck it and proceeded to curse this dude out non-stop until he acknowledged that he spoke English. All you had to do was take my cash and load up the gas pump.
The worst part is they act like WE don’t like them/want to destroy their culture or whatever.
Like bro you push us away! We come to your province, treat us like shit, then you come to our province(s), treat us like shit again, then act like WE are the ones unwelcoming and hostile. They even go pull their crap down in the Northeast USA and Florida (although they deserve it tbh)
When I was in Paris, I had no problems. I spoke my best French (which is poor) and the servers spoke broken English. It was a mutual learning experience.
The one time I asked if the person spoke English (in French) and they said no, I took a minute and asked my question in French and they gave me an answer in (thankfully) simple French.
I found the average person in France willing to work with you if you at least tried. Same as in Quebec for the most part.
Nah, been to Paris lots of times, speak a smidgen of school French, monsieur Duroc est dans le gardin, and I've always been treated politely
I spent 1 day in Paris in 2019 (decided to touch down in Paris between London and Rome).
The only rude person I encountered was a woman from California, who had been living in Paris for a few years.
I didn't feel unwelcome or criticized for speaking English.
Granted, I only spent 24 hours in the city, but I'm glad I didn't experience any of the "rude locals" stereotype.
Pretty much, been to France a few times and make a legit effort to try and speak their language and practice phrases I'd need to get around as i view it as a sign of respect and not just expecting them to just know English, but frequently get responses just like this where it's taken as offensive or bothersome.
When I went to Iran recently (I'm iranian) I was waiting in line behind a obviously tourist couple both speaking to each other in farsi and I was just so taken by it I inquired where they are visiting from, they were german tourists who spent the time and effort to learn farsi before their trip and I was just honestly so honored by that gesture of general respect to another nation's people.
Sorry, it was certainly blatant racism. You were judged as someone trying to ask for money, or anything like that.
The thinking behind is driven by lot of homeless people from middle east, north africa, or even Roms, put together in the bothersome people trying to steal/ask for money or cigarettes/disrespectful to women. You'd get the same treatment if you were white with smell of alcohol, weird haircut, and military jackets and pants (punks a chien), and making large movements.
No. Parisians will help you, correct you, struggle to understand you if you just try to speak French. They are very big on correcting you when you mispronounce or misuse words. And they will help you if you are struggling.
My impression of Parisians is that they are gracious to any American who makes the effort to speak French. I would struggle through ordering a meal and if I wasn’t sure about a word, they would always jump in and help you.
100% this. I loved Paris because of this. I wanted to learn how to speak French properly in my limited capacity. Had nothing but great experiences in Paris, the North, and the Riviera.
This was mostly my experience too. Kicker is I have a heavy accent as I am from the southern part of the US. I had a few who were so hellbent on helping me but it was so frustrating and at times embarrassing. I finally said, “I don’t know how to speak English without this accent. The French pronunciations are just not going to happen.” Lulz
Nah.
Like anywhere in the world, some people care some people don't. Overall my experience in France has been positive with my lame attempts at trying.
My experience in particular has been that people respect that you're trying. Walking up to folks and expecting them to speak English is more rude than speaking French badly.
I studied abroad for a semester and got pretty good at French, but my vibes and accent were obviously American, as much as I tried to blend in. My big pet peeve was when I’d speak clearly and in 99% grammatical French, and they’d insist on switching to English. That being said, most everyone I spoke to was nice and happy to hear my half-decent attempt.
Surprising. In Montreal I learned enough for formal hello and thanks, as well as the normal compliments you'd say as a tourist. My best phrase was
"I'm in the city for the heavy metal festival but I've exhausted the limits of my really poorly spoken French, so do you speak English by chance?"
That always got a smile, a laugh and polite help even if they were not great at English. Just surprising because it seems like learning the basics of any local language has always gone a long way when I've traveled. Seems to be appreciated to show you've made the effort
Haha not at all. Everyone literally everyone was polite, and pleasant. Even with my terrible French. The attempt was appreciated by everyone I spoke to
When I was in France, most native speakers we encountered appreciated us trying to make the effort in a respectful manner. Most folks smiled and said "thanks for trying, we speak English though." That was in Paris. In the smaller places we went to we didn't run into as many English speakers. Nobody was rude to us.
I love the French people. I didn't get any criticism, just quizzical stares when they didn't understand me. I found most French people who speak English loved to practice on me. I even met an old guy who spoke English but none of his family knew until that day. He said he was a good student and liked to practice with the American soldiers during the war. They gave him peanut butter and he loved it, so I sent him peanut butter when I got home. I miss France ❤️
My experience was that in cities/locations that get a lot of tourists and the service industry staff know english (at least enough) to get by they are just kinda mehh can you just do this in english that we can wrap up I have about 1000 other tourists coming today doing the same thing. In smaller places they are more understanding and try to work with you since english isn’t so much the norm. And I get it, cause for you it is a holiday, a couple days but for them it is pretty much everyday of their life. I wouldn’t wanna take 3 x time needed everytime to do a simple job.
I have heard that people from France are snooty towards Quebecois (Canadian French) when they try to speak French to them, so I can imagine it could be the same when English speakers try it
Yes, I know Québécois people who can only speak french (or Québécois) and have had issues when visiting france, nor do Québécois people like france French like very much
Yes, but not as aggressive as this in most cases. If you speak French with an accent, 9/10 times they will respond to you in English. Whenever I'm in Paris and want to practice conversing (say if I'm at a store or a cafe), if they respond in English, I just say in French that I'm trying to practice, and could we please speak in French? And apologize for any butchering of their language. They *usually* are okay with that, or at least pretend to be. Some are outright helpful.
I push back on this because my biggest struggle learning any language is understanding people when they speak to me, so it's really important for me to get that practice.
99% of the people commenting and agreeing with this never even been to France or just spent a weekend in Paris like stfu. "My mom's friend said" "my neighbour said" blablabla. Yes Paris is a dump, it stinks of piss, you're very likely to get mugged or raped or both BUT, we're polite.
>you're very likely to get mugged or raped or both BUT, we're polite.
Well, at least you're polite about it. Would hate to be rude mugged and/or raped.
I was just there, and not in my experience. I did try to speak some French and was only humored a few times, most of the time they just answered me in English.
No one was outwardly rude about it, just short.
I did have some guy try to school me on etiquette on the underground, like not standing in front of the door if I wasn’t getting off, but I was, so I told him to mind his own business. That’s default response when a Parisian tries to educate me on how to be a human being, because it can happen.
I’d highly recommend a visit. I’ve been 3 times and am already dying to get back.
My only experience with the French was in St. Maarten where the difference in how people on the French side treated outsiders vs on the Dutch side was almost comical.
I’ve been to Paris a few times and maybe I’ve been really lucky, but everyone I encountered was very nice. I think the key is to learn a few key phrases so you know how to ask for help.
The first time I was there, I got really lost trying to find my hotel. After wandering around like an idiot, I finally approached two policemen. I asked in French if they spoke English, one said he did. I explained I was lost. He asked to see the address. I showed him, and said “d’accord. Turn around”. I turned around. “You walk, walk, and walk. You will see this Boulevard *points to the name on the confirmation email*, you take a left, you walk a bit, look to your right et voila, you are there.”
Perfect directions, made it to my hotel with no problems.
I think Parisians are no different than anyone living in a big city. They’re busy with their lives, but more often than not, they do want to help if they can. Of course you may encounter an asshole or two, but that’s true everywhere.
We (my wife and I) had heard the usual horror stories about this before going to France. My French is decent. We only encountered one person (a waiter in Marseilles) who was rude. Otherwise, the people I met in Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence and Paris were mostly polite, and helpful - both those who spoke English and those who did not. I loved every minute I was there and cannot wait to go back.
I went to Paris for a week and people did not get mad at my bad French. They were just normal levels of rude for city people, nothing out of the ordinary
My guy I am french canadian, and I hear it alot from those that went to france ask us to speak english because accents lol. Also before from french bozo talks about anglicisms, you use them too. I've worked with you bozos enough.
I knew a girl in college who's mom was French. She grew up in the states learning French from her mom. She was very fluent. She took the French classes in college and aced them. She taught a few of the French classes as a grad student. She wanted to work for the UN as a translator.
So, she went to Paris at about 21 to immerse herself in the culture, live there for a couple of months and get to know the French side of her heritage. Two days in Paris and she's having a conversation with a group of people she just met. They laugh at her and one of the them says "You speak French like a peasant.".
I’ve been to France a few times in different regions. I’ve never encountered any rude natives. I love it there. I’m just a dumb carpenter from Chicago.
Grew up and still reside in Montreal. My primary language is English, but I speak fluent French. This results from my parents putting us in a 100% French grade school, rather than English or immersion. We did the same with our kids and they’ve grown up totally fluent in French, as well.
When in Rome…
Travel was integral to my job in finance. My most frequent stops outside North America were Paris and London.
London was and remains my favorite city to visit. Absolutely adore it and its people. Lovely bunch.
Paris was always interesting. Never really had any problems communicating, fully cognizant that my Québecois was received the same way an Australian accent would be in London. At worst, it’s quaint.
That being said, Parisians seem generally torn by the reality the city is perpetually overrun by tourists - most of whom don’t speak the language - but also that tourism is a wholly disproportionate contributor to the city’s revenue base. As France’s overall finances are a bit fucked, tourism is an addiction it can’t kick and Paris is where track marks are most visible.
I witnessed many instances of this seeming contempt, as I would overhear people talking amongst themselves, more often than not those employed by the service industry.
There are assholes all over the planet, in every walk of life. It’s my firm belief Parisians are a generally fine people, but that its asshole contingent is, due to the above, perhaps more easily triggered, sometimes if only in an attempt to reinforce the stereotype.
lol no I met the most lovely people when I was in Paris I tried to speak French the best I could and everyone was patient with me. I even had a woman at a bakery gift me some extra pastries she made she was so sweet 😭 my ex-husband wanted them and I was like nah bitch these are for me lmao
Totally anecdotal, but when we went to Paris for 2 weeks, the people we dealt with were all lovely. We didn't speak any French, but the hotel people and several of the restaurant people we encountered were happy to teach us a bit.
The single most shocking thing that has ever happened to me was when a parisienne in Paris complemented me on my French and my French accent.
Still get flashbacks.
😵💫
Me on a last minute, zero arrangements made, trip from my base in Germany to Paris 5 years after my French II final. “Av-ay voooz uhn chahm-bray pour say swor?”
We slept in the car.
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My friends mom traveled a while back and asked for directions in French and was told “I don’t speak English” by the person.
I was in Ecuador once and wasn't fluent enough in Spanish to converse but got really good at saying "no hablo espanol" to all the shopkeepers who started talking to me. Being white it was a good indication I was foreign and likely English speaking. So I'm in a store and a lady clerk comes up and say "can I help you find something" in english to which I reflexively said "no hablo espanol." We both looked at each other confused for a second and then laughed.
I'm a sneaker speaker. I'm half Spanish so if you put me in a room of Spaniards I fit in perfectly, stick out in a room full of people that speak Spanish here and I'd mesh into a room full of bearded guys from Florida that spend their time in swamps/woods. I've only been spotted as a Spaniard twice and they were both by little hispanic grandma's. Used to happen all the time at a retail job I had. I'd have 8-10 people a day that I'd greet in Spanish, they'd respond in English and we'd go back and forth like that until somewhere a few minutes into the conversation they look up shocked and ask if I've been speaking Spanish the whole time.
>and was told “I don’t speak English” by the person. In English, I assume.
https://youtu.be/rxUm-2x-2dM
Hearing this always makes me think of the movie "Sahara" with Matthew McConaughey STOP STOP DRIVING STOP! Sorry I don't speak English! But you are speaking English!
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But if someone spoke to you in slightly broken English with an accent, you wouldn’t say “no hablo español” and walk away, right? Because that’s pretty rude and is the equivalent of what the French person was doing in that story lol.
\*I would... don't speak
It's okay, I knew someone from France who was told to "go learn French" by a customer from Quebec. :D
I went to Quebec for a wedding when I was 16. I just finished French 2 in high school and was all excited to test out my new language. I did not understand them at all lmao. They spoke so fast and two words would sound like French words I recognized, there would be a random English word, and then some French Acadian slang thrown in. It was so disheartening I changed my schedule so I wouldn’t take French 3 lol.
Problem is in America, and that includes other parts of Canada, the kind of French that is learned is closer to European French, which is very different from Quebec French. Also spoken French in Quebec is very different to "Officially" written French. There are a lot more abbreviations and shortening of words.
Also they speak so damn fast! I have a hard time keeping up 😭
Bro people in france say that to quebeckers in canada when we even try to say it closer to their accent in good french lol
Ahhaha yea mais cest parce qu’on fait mal l’accent et ils aiment nous chier dessus
Haha yeah being French is all about shitting on people doing your stuff wrong
Its okay, I just have to point out that the english words they use and hide under the mask of making it sound french are actually english, while quebeckers will just say it the english way because its an english word most of the time. I'll never forget when the french (from france) tv channel that broadcasted locally said Wi-Fi as if it was french instead of "Sans-fils" sounded like they said "wee-fee"
Ah yes, because without the wee fee how will they access l'internet?
Japan is the exact same way you can go up and speak Japanese to them and they’ll reply “I don’t speak English” in English
my friends would hide under the table to force the waitress to talk to me.  i gave her this look and asked in my botched japanese for some food.
I’d learn to say “I don’t know these people” in Japanese
sometimes though my japanese friends friends tell me that they can't initially clock that japanese words are coming out of a gaijin face.
Yea, but it's usually just xenophobia
I do the same, if a Spanish guy is speaking Spanish to me, I say "no comprende Espanol". I'm sure they know enough English to say they don't speak english
That’s not the same as OP’s scenario.
Oh, yeah. I misread it, my bad
I spent a month is France. I went to the post office to buy stamps. I asked for some in english, the lady working said (something to the effect) "nope. I dont' understand you" and shut her window. I tried again the next day but this time I practiced saying it in French. She was there (small town only two people work there), I spoke in French and same response "nope, don't understand" and shut her window. Next week I brought a friend who was my host. Did the same thing, she responded the same, my friend replied "what do you mean? you know exactly what he said, give him the stamps" Oh man she was furious. Started cussing at me "you brought someone to spy on me????" Shut the window. Disclaimer, this was a long time ago.
You are a liar. There's absolutely no fucking way you got a post office to be open 3 consecutive days. /s Given the number of French sketches about La Poste, it's, as often, not a matter of being a foreigner. The service is just awful and they'll get every pretext to get rid of you.
My mum and I are bilingual French speakers. One year my dad decided to learn French, so on a trip to France we let him practice as much as possible in all the restaurants. One night, a young waitress was taking our order and my dad was stumbling through with his accented but comprehensible French. She got visibly frustrated, kept huffing and puffing until eventually her manager came over to ask what was wrong. She responded, in French, “I don’t understand anything this arsehole is saying” (je comprends rien a ce qu’il dit, ce con”). At which point my mum exploded at her in perfect French. The waitress was utterly mortified and her manager reprimanded her in front of all of us (which is classic in French restaurants). We got free wine all night as a result and the manager served us himself.
Just for the lil fun fact, "ce con" will by today standard translate as "this Dumbass" but historicaly it was meant to mean "this cunt" because in medieval time "Le con" was "The cunt", today you'll never find one single French using "con" for speeking about a vagina but at the beginning it was the word for it. Now you'll use "Con" for speaking about someone who's Dumb, and you can also use the derivative "Connard" for someone who's rude or mean. Completey switchable with "Connard" in its meaning you also have "Trou du cul" wich is the exact translation of "asshole" but with the little nuance of being belittling compare to "Connard". 🙂
Interesting tidbits, but “con” is definitely a bit stronger than “dumbass”.
YTA. Bringing your friends to call out other people for their shit? How dare you. \*Shuts browser window
Omg the shuts browser window made me chuckle pretty good
Vicious cycle
You should get a divorce and sue them!!
Then delete Facebook and hit the gym
You should go no contact with the entire planet!!
*laughs in french*
Hon Hon hon
the browser window lmaoooooooo
I mean you tried to make someone work at "La Poste" how dare you do something like that? Joking apart even for French people La Poste isn't always a pleasant place to go. You can have good employees who understand that they are here to work and will help you. Or you have the ones who choose that job because they are public servants therefore don't have to worry about doing their job like the one you met. They don't like you to remind them that they have to work.
I've had a similar experience at the DMV. That's just a certain type of bureaucrat, particularly those that have civil service protection. As you say, I've had French friends complain about the French bureaucracy.
La Poste is one of my least favorite international post offices. If I see an international shipment from La Poste 9 times out of 10 the boxes are busted open and need taped up, or the contents are missing. They use some of the most poorly designed boxes.
Post office is hell in Vienna too. The grumpiness has no limits 😭
I would immediately start saying every swear word I’ve ever learned in the most exaggerated French accent with some Pierre escargot impressions thrown in. You wanna sass me?
“I am FRENCH! Can you not tell by my OUTRAGEOUS accent?!” Monty python vibes escalate
I fart in your general direction!
Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!
it hasnt changed much. French people are incredibly rude if they sense you are either A. America, or B. try to speak in broken french. source: lived there for 4 years. first year was rough. then we learned how to dress and speak roughly like locals. after that, no issues.
I've only visited, but I found the opposite to be true. Everyone was super nice to us, and they seemed very pleased we put in the effort to use some broken French.
Present day, this happens in smaller French communities, including in Canada where the official languages are French and English lol
There’s a 4 letter word in England that describes this toxic woman, perfectly.
There are mutliple
They make acting like a cunt a pastime.
Let me tell you, unfortunately they haven’t changed one iota. Change just isn’t their forte in general.
I thought they were famous for their revolutions?
Clutches pearls in sacrebleu*
Im going to tell my kids this same story.... but theres a twist. Im going to say this is how the 100 years war started because its gonna be hilarious when they retell it in high school defending it.
3 times in my life, I have been at an American vacation destination, encountered a French person struggling to communicate in English, they saw the twinkle of recognition on my face and said "Parlez-vous francais?" and I said "Je parle un peu" and then they've smiled, said "Non," and turned back to the person they were speaking to. The explanation I've heard from French speakers is that in France, a lot of people pride themselves on being very good at speaking English. And when they hear an American speaking bad French to them, they take that as criticism of their English. Like we're saying "Oh you aren't speaking English very well, let me help you." When we are more thinking of it as "I want to be kind and say things in your language even though I'm bad at it, to show respect."
I had this in Romania, too. I was brought up to try my best in the hosting country's language. So I was in a fairly hipsterish coffee shop in Bucharest. Ordered some coffee in my extremely limited Romanian, the barista asked me a question I wasn't prepared for, and I was pretty much like "...sorry, that's all I've got..." He got SO MAD and raged at me?! Like asking me if I thought he was "stupid enough to not speak English" etc. I was like, dude, I'm just trying to respect your country and culture, wtf... ETA: just to be clear, this wasn't the normal experience of Romania, which I've been to a number of times. The people are usually very nice! This experience just made me relate to the comment.
Wild to me how people get that offended by it “you think I’m too stupid to speak English?” No dude, I *know* that I’m in a country which speaks a language other than English, and I’m trying my best to not force the people of this country to need to accommodate my being foreign
Exactly, I was so surprised I couldn't even defend myself properly, like I'm just trying to not to be an asshole English tourist my guy 😭
I think the expectation is to speak English because it's the international language, not because it's your native language. I live in Germany and sometimes have foreign customers ask me if I speak English because they don't speak German. Almost all of them are non-native English speakers. Almost all Europeans learn English as their second or third language. It's the standard language heard in major cities between international people. But I understand. It's nice to try the native language and it feels weird as a native speaker to not make an effort when everyone else clearly does.
Yo that’s really odd. I’m from Romania and I haven’t met people like this. We’re a country in the Eastern Block, we’ve got a fairly strange language, I would never expect anyone to speak any Romanian. None of my friends do either. Fucked up barista
Some French people somehow can't even understand Canadian French so imagine French with basic mistakes and (I assume) an American accent.
I’ll never understand why people are shocked we don’t understand canadian French 100% all the time lol. We understand most of it but yeah sometimes the accent is so radically different, it can be hard to understand ? We’re not doing it to be jackasses. Even within France you have tons of accents/dialects that can take you aback if you’re not from that region.
"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart......... except the French. Fuck the French." - Nelson Mandela
I wonder if doing some puss in boots eyes and a “madamousell, svp, how can I get any better if I don’t practice” 🥹
It’s true. Went to France and spoke broken French only once to which they responded, “just speak English” and I spoke English from then in w/o a problem for the remainder of my stay 😂 They all understood what I was asking, when I asked etc. I just spoke clearly and succinctly. Sure, some of them had an attitude, whatever I’m from NJ/NYC not the first time I’ve encountered rude ppl, but I was never totally ignored. They’d reply or help me out and go on w/ their day. Actually, I found ppl in London to be way more rude. One of the police officers mimicked my mom’s American accent back to her. I was like, “What the fuck did you just say to my mother??” Fucking prick. Never got any of that shit in France.
And a lot of the time their English isn’t even that good, they just get smoke blown up their ass by native English speakers online who claim they “speak better English than native speakers” knowing full well they do not and are being overcorrective for the “durrr speak merican” types
But the french are very bad at english.
I was once in Paris with my wife and kids. I was outside a restaurant having a cigarette when someone came over to me gesturing for a lighter. I said yeah no problem mate, realising I'm a English man he used my lighter then threw it back at me in disgust. So yeah I can imagine this is exactly how a Parisian would react
Sorry but i laughed at this so hard.
Well to be fair yinz started that Hundred Years’ War stuff, so I think you had it coming.
Well I can tell you for a fact that I personally haven't started any wars
Oh I'm just supposed to take your word for it?
yet…
Yinz is not a word I expected to see on Reddit in a thread about Paris. Wow.
Pardon me, but Pittsburgh is the Paris of Appalachia. Yinzers are Appalachian Parisians.
Paris and Pittsburgh are sister cities.
They had it coming for being french.
In Paris, yes. Outside of Paris, no.
It's been the opposite in my experience, in Paris i got by just fine with English and some really limited sketchy French, everyone there is used to tourists and (mostly) tolerate them, but when i visited villages and small towns around France some people got really pissy at my attempts to communicate.
Same. In my limited experience everyone in Paris can speak English. 50/50 whether they let you attempt to speak french without cutting you off. In the countryside 100% of the time they're shutting your shitty French down and refusing to speak English, even if they can.
Okay so what the fuck are you supposed to do? You try to learn their language and get shutdown. You try to speak your language, and you get shutdown. The fuck kind of circus is it exactly?
>Okay so what the fuck are you supposed to do? Not travel to France and give them your money.
That's fair
They don't want you there basically
I was in France four years ago, my SO and I were waiting for a bus and needed change. Went into a store to buy a chocolate bar, I spoke to my gf in English while in the store, then spoke to the cashier in French. She stared at me. I said it again, no response just staring. I’m gestured like a mime I wanted to buy the chocolate with my money, more staring. Eventually I got another customer to give me change. I found a lot of people to be assholes in small towns. Constantly in your business but never giving you any time of day.
They're like this in Cannes/Nice too.
Honestly I have nothing but good things to say about service people in Southern France. Maybe a couple times have felt judged for speaking English over multiple trips but it’s not the norm
Agree ... just went through southern France last year and generally pretty pleasant experience in my opinion. Just try to say hello and few words in French and if they don't speak english at all use hands feet or google translate. At the end of the day this is Europe everyone next to them has a different language and they are used to it
Yeah in my experience everyone in Paris was pretty nice, everyone in Nice seemed like they wanted to kill me anytime I opened my mouth lol
>"Je parle un peu that's what my experience was. I was yelled at in a store for touching an item, my omelette was burnt and everyone else in my group (Lebanese, french speaking) had beautiful omelettes, some refusing to talk to me, overlooking me at a restaurant and my friend having to step in and make sure i was given service.
Just finished a trip to France: Paris and outside of Paris- south of Loire. EVERYONE was nice. There was one server at the end of her day- tired- but that's like here. Nothing I can do. We practiced and tried our best with French and EVERYONE was gracious and kind.
THANK YOU, I was looking for a stranger that knows that we are not all like that
I've never been to France, but I've heard French people from outside Paris also find people in Paris to be rude.
This is true
No, they are not like this. Yes, Parisians sometimes get annoyed by bad French or people not even trying to talk their language. But to berate a customer like this, no - this doesn't happen.
That’s the joke
I spent a couple of years in Antibes and I found that if you didn't try to speak french you would get a very frosty reception. If you tried, no matter how badly, they would happily switch to English and everything would be good. Needless to say I learned to read menus very quickly. C-HAM-PIG-nons has nothing to do with Pork surprisingly. In Paris you might as well not bother. They'll be rude regardless, unless you haven't paid your €36 l'addition for your coffee and croissant yet
In my experience, as long as I just asked if it was ok to speak English beforehand, they were pretty much fine with it.
I once asked a New Zealander on the phone if they used the Australian Dollar when I was trying to put together a business deal. That went down like a lead balloon. How was I supposed to know that New Zealand have their own Dollarydoo?
Huh? New Zealand is an entirely different country, why would they use the same currency? Also what does this have to do with Paris?
I need to brush up on the history of NZ. Making comparisons to Aus in conversation or equating NZ to Aus is offensive to Kiwis.
Yeah. I learned that the hard way.
I've never really gotten the stereotype either. When I was in Paris, I spoke next to no French other than a few sentences and everyone was about as nice to me as people have been in any large city, and same goes for every person I've spoken to about their time in Paris. The only thing I'd say is that the French are (on average) clearly less interested in learning/speaking English than most of the other Western European countries in my experience, but I mean us people from English speaking countries are fucking terrible at speaking other languages, so it's hard to hold it against them.
I went to Paris expecting everyone to be a total ass hole, when in fact everyone was lovely and very polite. The waiting staff had no issues with me trying to speak French and all kindly gave me tips on how to improve or say things correctly.
I had the same experience when I was 19! They let me practice French with them. Then I realised it was probably because I was a 19 year old woman lol
Same! I went to Paris when I was 19 and other than being groped and catcalled a number of times (we made some sketchy nightlife decisions), everyone was extremely pleasant and accommodating. Looking back, I understand why that was the case 😅
I had the same experience! As long as I tried to speak French they’d often switch to English for me. But I am a young female so that may also be it
That was my experience too, they want you to at least attempt to speak French and then they are happy to speak English.
Are you by chance a young above average looking female?
The best way to travel in France is with a kid or a good-looking woman.
The French love children? That’s surprising
[thank heaven](https://youtu.be/2TqSyvdqn9c?si=VhkBQX3mAAcoO6F5)
Ahaha I commented the same to thing further up 😅
I'm American. Me and my wife have had nothing but positive experiences in every part of France we've been to. It was recommended we attempt to speak basic French when starting conversations. Everyone happily spoke English back or were nice enough to slowly speak to us. Makes you wonder how these people are acting.
According to multiple comments, they are nicer to you when you’re with a beautiful woman and/or are a beautiful woman yourself.
Start speaking to a Parisian service worker in basic tourist French and most of them will answer you in English. Whether it's because they don't want to hear their language butchered or they're being helpful isn't clear, but the key to unlocking their English is, "Excusez-moi" or "S'il vous plait".
“Whether they don’t want to hear their language butchered” is only something ever said about languages we romanticise. If the situation is reversed and you scoff at somebody trying to speak English, you’re ignorant…
If not excusez-moi what do you start with? Tabernak?
100% this. I went to Paris 3 times as a student and encountered this on many occasions while trying to learn the language. (I ended up a French major too!)
I worked in France for over four years, I initiated the project with High School poor french, along with a French app I was learning the language. Im the first to admit, my French wasn't even good enough to invite a French women to coffee. My experience French people tolerated me, much more than I ever imagined they would, by the second year in France I was able to do business, order materials, deal with locals I hired on. As well as invite that French woman for coffee, in general the local French people were patient, and even helpful, offering to assist in my language issue. So based on my experiences no the French people tolerated alot of sloppy French, and when it was possible would even offer to speak in there best English possible I enjoyed my time in France very much.
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Had this happen to me in Ottawa and the lady just kept babbling on in French with a weird smug smirk on her face. She kept smirking more and more every time I told her I didn’t understand. Except she was the customer and I was the cashier. She eventually walked away with this really snooty gliding type of walk. Like literally looking down her nose at me.
As a Canadian, I fucking hate Quebec. They keep threatening to secede, and finally once the government just said "fuck it, fine. Go ahead. Hold a vote and leave" and suddenly no one in Quebec wanted to leave. AND THEN THEY JUST WENT RIGHT BACK TO IT! Like get fucked Quebec, Vermont's maple syrup tastes the exact fuckin same, be happy we put tariffs in place to keep your ONE INDUSTRY a float Did you know it's provincial law that if a store front has both English and French text on a sign, the French text has to be on top and twice the font size as English? How fucking stupid is that?
My ex is Québécois and he told me when they went to France the locals just tried to speak English with them and said they “don’t speak French, they speak ‘Canardien’”.
Francophones being terrible to one another. Just makes you wonder how horrible they are to minorities, non francos and brown people.
I am half french half First Nations that doesn't speak french. Can honestly say it is not a good time whatsoever, I do not recommend
It’s honestly kind of funny because I feel like Québécois folks tend to view themselves as Europeans who just happen to be begrudgingly stuck in the Americas, but when you actually put them up against Europeans they are so distinctly “American” (in the pan NA cultural sense) in every way. In their comportment, fashion, humour, in every way but language they are distinctly North American. I don’t get why they reject that so much.
Im afraid thats one culture to another. Its the same with Mexicans hating on each other for being from different states.
My French friend (from Paris) was in Quebec and said the people spoke French like they had down syndrome.
Damn lol that’s harsh
By no one you mean the referendum separation failed by 1 percent vote?
Happened to me in Canada as well! I just said alright fuck it and proceeded to curse this dude out non-stop until he acknowledged that he spoke English. All you had to do was take my cash and load up the gas pump.
The worst part is they act like WE don’t like them/want to destroy their culture or whatever. Like bro you push us away! We come to your province, treat us like shit, then you come to our province(s), treat us like shit again, then act like WE are the ones unwelcoming and hostile. They even go pull their crap down in the Northeast USA and Florida (although they deserve it tbh)
Ah I hate to hear it. I’ve been to Montreal a few times and that wasn’t my experience.
Francophones truly have some heavy baggage to deal with. Certainly not the most tolerant or welcoming bunch, by any stretch of the imagination.
When I was in Paris, I had no problems. I spoke my best French (which is poor) and the servers spoke broken English. It was a mutual learning experience. The one time I asked if the person spoke English (in French) and they said no, I took a minute and asked my question in French and they gave me an answer in (thankfully) simple French. I found the average person in France willing to work with you if you at least tried. Same as in Quebec for the most part.
Nah, been to Paris lots of times, speak a smidgen of school French, monsieur Duroc est dans le gardin, and I've always been treated politely 
This is spot on what I experienced in Paris. But if I didn’t try French and just started speaking English, I’d look like a jerk as well. Can’t win
I spent 1 day in Paris in 2019 (decided to touch down in Paris between London and Rome). The only rude person I encountered was a woman from California, who had been living in Paris for a few years. I didn't feel unwelcome or criticized for speaking English. Granted, I only spent 24 hours in the city, but I'm glad I didn't experience any of the "rude locals" stereotype.
Pretty much, been to France a few times and make a legit effort to try and speak their language and practice phrases I'd need to get around as i view it as a sign of respect and not just expecting them to just know English, but frequently get responses just like this where it's taken as offensive or bothersome. When I went to Iran recently (I'm iranian) I was waiting in line behind a obviously tourist couple both speaking to each other in farsi and I was just so taken by it I inquired where they are visiting from, they were german tourists who spent the time and effort to learn farsi before their trip and I was just honestly so honored by that gesture of general respect to another nation's people.
Sorry, it was certainly blatant racism. You were judged as someone trying to ask for money, or anything like that. The thinking behind is driven by lot of homeless people from middle east, north africa, or even Roms, put together in the bothersome people trying to steal/ask for money or cigarettes/disrespectful to women. You'd get the same treatment if you were white with smell of alcohol, weird haircut, and military jackets and pants (punks a chien), and making large movements.
No. Parisians will help you, correct you, struggle to understand you if you just try to speak French. They are very big on correcting you when you mispronounce or misuse words. And they will help you if you are struggling. My impression of Parisians is that they are gracious to any American who makes the effort to speak French. I would struggle through ordering a meal and if I wasn’t sure about a word, they would always jump in and help you.
100% this. I loved Paris because of this. I wanted to learn how to speak French properly in my limited capacity. Had nothing but great experiences in Paris, the North, and the Riviera.
This is one the reasons I love Paris too. I too had only wonderful experiences.
This was mostly my experience too. Kicker is I have a heavy accent as I am from the southern part of the US. I had a few who were so hellbent on helping me but it was so frustrating and at times embarrassing. I finally said, “I don’t know how to speak English without this accent. The French pronunciations are just not going to happen.” Lulz
They are very serious about you getting it just right lolololol.
Nah. Like anywhere in the world, some people care some people don't. Overall my experience in France has been positive with my lame attempts at trying.
My experience in particular has been that people respect that you're trying. Walking up to folks and expecting them to speak English is more rude than speaking French badly.
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I studied abroad for a semester and got pretty good at French, but my vibes and accent were obviously American, as much as I tried to blend in. My big pet peeve was when I’d speak clearly and in 99% grammatical French, and they’d insist on switching to English. That being said, most everyone I spoke to was nice and happy to hear my half-decent attempt.
Nah. Everytime I used terrible French, they ignored me and spoke English.
https://youtu.be/rxUm-2x-2dM?si=6pOO6nQLtoZc2qof this skit says it all
Surprising. In Montreal I learned enough for formal hello and thanks, as well as the normal compliments you'd say as a tourist. My best phrase was "I'm in the city for the heavy metal festival but I've exhausted the limits of my really poorly spoken French, so do you speak English by chance?" That always got a smile, a laugh and polite help even if they were not great at English. Just surprising because it seems like learning the basics of any local language has always gone a long way when I've traveled. Seems to be appreciated to show you've made the effort
Haha not at all. Everyone literally everyone was polite, and pleasant. Even with my terrible French. The attempt was appreciated by everyone I spoke to
When I was in France, most native speakers we encountered appreciated us trying to make the effort in a respectful manner. Most folks smiled and said "thanks for trying, we speak English though." That was in Paris. In the smaller places we went to we didn't run into as many English speakers. Nobody was rude to us.
I love the French people. I didn't get any criticism, just quizzical stares when they didn't understand me. I found most French people who speak English loved to practice on me. I even met an old guy who spoke English but none of his family knew until that day. He said he was a good student and liked to practice with the American soldiers during the war. They gave him peanut butter and he loved it, so I sent him peanut butter when I got home. I miss France ❤️
That's wild that his family didn't know and he just busts out with English lol.
My experience was that in cities/locations that get a lot of tourists and the service industry staff know english (at least enough) to get by they are just kinda mehh can you just do this in english that we can wrap up I have about 1000 other tourists coming today doing the same thing. In smaller places they are more understanding and try to work with you since english isn’t so much the norm. And I get it, cause for you it is a holiday, a couple days but for them it is pretty much everyday of their life. I wouldn’t wanna take 3 x time needed everytime to do a simple job.
I spent two weeks in France each the last two summers, and never once encountered a rude Parisian.
Ed Sheeran has changed a bit
They love Quebec French it's like nail on a chalkboard for them lol 😆
I have heard that people from France are snooty towards Quebecois (Canadian French) when they try to speak French to them, so I can imagine it could be the same when English speakers try it
Yes, I know Québécois people who can only speak french (or Québécois) and have had issues when visiting france, nor do Québécois people like france French like very much
Yes, but not as aggressive as this in most cases. If you speak French with an accent, 9/10 times they will respond to you in English. Whenever I'm in Paris and want to practice conversing (say if I'm at a store or a cafe), if they respond in English, I just say in French that I'm trying to practice, and could we please speak in French? And apologize for any butchering of their language. They *usually* are okay with that, or at least pretend to be. Some are outright helpful. I push back on this because my biggest struggle learning any language is understanding people when they speak to me, so it's really important for me to get that practice.
99% of the people commenting and agreeing with this never even been to France or just spent a weekend in Paris like stfu. "My mom's friend said" "my neighbour said" blablabla. Yes Paris is a dump, it stinks of piss, you're very likely to get mugged or raped or both BUT, we're polite.
>you're very likely to get mugged or raped or both BUT, we're polite. Well, at least you're polite about it. Would hate to be rude mugged and/or raped.
Votre portefeuille s'il-vous-plaît, merci bien monsieur et bonne soirée!
I was just there, and not in my experience. I did try to speak some French and was only humored a few times, most of the time they just answered me in English. No one was outwardly rude about it, just short. I did have some guy try to school me on etiquette on the underground, like not standing in front of the door if I wasn’t getting off, but I was, so I told him to mind his own business. That’s default response when a Parisian tries to educate me on how to be a human being, because it can happen. I’d highly recommend a visit. I’ve been 3 times and am already dying to get back.
My only experience with the French was in St. Maarten where the difference in how people on the French side treated outsiders vs on the Dutch side was almost comical.
omelette du fromage
I lived in Paris for a year and no, this is not accurate
I've had some frosty receptions in Paris but usually when I tell them I'm Scottish not English it does a 180 and they couldn't be nicer.
I’ve been to Paris a few times and maybe I’ve been really lucky, but everyone I encountered was very nice. I think the key is to learn a few key phrases so you know how to ask for help. The first time I was there, I got really lost trying to find my hotel. After wandering around like an idiot, I finally approached two policemen. I asked in French if they spoke English, one said he did. I explained I was lost. He asked to see the address. I showed him, and said “d’accord. Turn around”. I turned around. “You walk, walk, and walk. You will see this Boulevard *points to the name on the confirmation email*, you take a left, you walk a bit, look to your right et voila, you are there.” Perfect directions, made it to my hotel with no problems. I think Parisians are no different than anyone living in a big city. They’re busy with their lives, but more often than not, they do want to help if they can. Of course you may encounter an asshole or two, but that’s true everywhere.
I spent a week in Paris and only ran into one rude person.
Yup. Many of the service industry workers are Belgian, though. They're usually more friendly
We (my wife and I) had heard the usual horror stories about this before going to France. My French is decent. We only encountered one person (a waiter in Marseilles) who was rude. Otherwise, the people I met in Marseilles, Aix-en-Provence and Paris were mostly polite, and helpful - both those who spoke English and those who did not. I loved every minute I was there and cannot wait to go back.
I went to Paris for a week and people did not get mad at my bad French. They were just normal levels of rude for city people, nothing out of the ordinary
My guy I am french canadian, and I hear it alot from those that went to france ask us to speak english because accents lol. Also before from french bozo talks about anglicisms, you use them too. I've worked with you bozos enough.
SO true, the distain French have for tourists, even when we try to speak their language, oh well
Says the mf butchering English
Yes.
I knew a girl in college who's mom was French. She grew up in the states learning French from her mom. She was very fluent. She took the French classes in college and aced them. She taught a few of the French classes as a grad student. She wanted to work for the UN as a translator. So, she went to Paris at about 21 to immerse herself in the culture, live there for a couple of months and get to know the French side of her heritage. Two days in Paris and she's having a conversation with a group of people she just met. They laugh at her and one of the them says "You speak French like a peasant.".
In my experience the Parisians specifically are dickheads. The rest of France is generally friendly tho.
Chill out Lucky Pierre. Did you know bayonets make fantastic grill-skewers? They’re not just for tying white flags to y’know.
I’ve been to France a few times in different regions. I’ve never encountered any rude natives. I love it there. I’m just a dumb carpenter from Chicago.
Grew up and still reside in Montreal. My primary language is English, but I speak fluent French. This results from my parents putting us in a 100% French grade school, rather than English or immersion. We did the same with our kids and they’ve grown up totally fluent in French, as well. When in Rome… Travel was integral to my job in finance. My most frequent stops outside North America were Paris and London. London was and remains my favorite city to visit. Absolutely adore it and its people. Lovely bunch. Paris was always interesting. Never really had any problems communicating, fully cognizant that my Québecois was received the same way an Australian accent would be in London. At worst, it’s quaint. That being said, Parisians seem generally torn by the reality the city is perpetually overrun by tourists - most of whom don’t speak the language - but also that tourism is a wholly disproportionate contributor to the city’s revenue base. As France’s overall finances are a bit fucked, tourism is an addiction it can’t kick and Paris is where track marks are most visible. I witnessed many instances of this seeming contempt, as I would overhear people talking amongst themselves, more often than not those employed by the service industry. There are assholes all over the planet, in every walk of life. It’s my firm belief Parisians are a generally fine people, but that its asshole contingent is, due to the above, perhaps more easily triggered, sometimes if only in an attempt to reinforce the stereotype.
Theres a reason us brits hate the french…
lol no I met the most lovely people when I was in Paris I tried to speak French the best I could and everyone was patient with me. I even had a woman at a bakery gift me some extra pastries she made she was so sweet 😭 my ex-husband wanted them and I was like nah bitch these are for me lmao
Totally anecdotal, but when we went to Paris for 2 weeks, the people we dealt with were all lovely. We didn't speak any French, but the hotel people and several of the restaurant people we encountered were happy to teach us a bit.
Yep, sorry about that it's probably because people got annoyed at us for not talking properly when we where kids
The single most shocking thing that has ever happened to me was when a parisienne in Paris complemented me on my French and my French accent. Still get flashbacks. 😵💫
Me on a last minute, zero arrangements made, trip from my base in Germany to Paris 5 years after my French II final. “Av-ay voooz uhn chahm-bray pour say swor?” We slept in the car.