Paris Field Trip

[monster]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

So they are incredibly protective of their language, and don't like anyone to mangle it. They also like to show off their education (this is in fact justified - I spent a month in France aged 16 and was impressed with the school I attended). ...... In Paris, the same will speak English to you with a weary air, and continue to address you in English even when you struggle on in French.

Bingo. Couldn't have put it better myself. The Parisiens particularly like to show how sophisticated their English is, and also have little patience for the stumbling French of foreigners. An interesting thing I learned was that French people who go abroad to teach French are often from the South, and Foreigners who want to be French teachers tend to spend most of their "in-country" time in south, so many foreigners speak French with an "inferior' Southern accent! my French certainly has a southern accent. When I was 11, the Parisiens refused to speak French to me. When I was 16, a newspaper vendor asked me what I thought about the rail crash that had occurred near the southern French town my teacher was from

[KGZotU]

The only words you need to know in French: "Je voudrais" Then just point and pay. Intone friendliness and a very moderate embarrassment.

I took a couple of years of French, though that was several years before I actually went to France. People in general were extremely courteous, aside from a rail worker or two. Luckily I didn't need to communicate anything too complicated in Paris, except for train tickets and they had an English speaking window there. Unless you're in a similar situation, I understand you're just going to get ire for trying English in Paris.

Funny story. Near the French-Italian border the rail station signs are all in French and Italian. On the other side they're in Italian and English. (; I was strangely self satisfied seeing that.

--Joe