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Ungrateful Natives

 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages Post Reply
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robsolete
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5173 days ago
191 posts - 428 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: French, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin

 
 Message 97 of 139
15 March 2010 at 2:53pm | IP Logged 
Yep. The semantics of the subject are setting people off, not the content of the post.

OP, next time I would say 'unhelpful' or 'insulting.'
1 person has voted this message useful



stout
Senior Member
Ireland
Joined 5159 days ago
108 posts - 140 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 98 of 139
15 March 2010 at 3:21pm | IP Logged 
stout wrote:
My experiences with French people has been variable.I can recall two experiences one
negative,one positive.My negative experience was in Paris CDG airport.A French woman had asked me in French for directions.I explained in slow,but reasonable French the
directions she wanted to go to.

Then she asked a me question which I did not understand.Then I asked in French to
repeat the question.Then she made a pretty nasty remark in English that "You do not
understand".I was tempted to argue with her but I then I remembered the saying
"Never argue with an idiot".Then I just said "Au reviour madame" and left her go.

My positive experience was with another French woman who was a post office clerk.
I was a sending registered letter to my home in Ireland.I said In French that I wanted
to register my letter and send it to Ireland,she asked me a couple of questions in French which I understood alright.Then she asked me another question in French and this time I did not understood what she said.Then I asked her in French to repeat what
what she said.

The postal clerk then switched to English,but her manner,unlike the woman in the airport was sympathetic and understanding.I know I do not like being spoken to in English by French people,but I knew buy her manner that she was being helpful and we finished our postal transaction.Then I said in French to her "Quelquefois je peux debrouille en francais,quelquefois pas(sometimes I can manage in French,sometimes not).

Then I asked her in French were she learned her English.The postal clerk had informed me that she had spent a while in England and that she had been going to English evening classes for many years in her local area.Then we said "Au revoir"to each other and went our separate ways.

So they are the two sides to France.So it's not always negative.The French are not all surly.You can have your fair share of surly British,Irish and Americans too.


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stout
Senior Member
Ireland
Joined 5159 days ago
108 posts - 140 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 99 of 139
15 March 2010 at 3:23pm | IP Logged 
robsolete wrote:
Yep. The semantics of the subject are setting people off, not the content of the post.

OP, next time I would say 'unhelpful' or 'insulting.'


It's just a way letting off a little steam about their experiences with the natives.
1 person has voted this message useful



cordelia0507
Senior Member
United Kingdom
Joined 5626 days ago
1473 posts - 2176 votes 
Speaks: Swedish*
Studies: German, Russian

 
 Message 100 of 139
16 March 2010 at 1:00am | IP Logged 
Darn right these frogs are "ungrateful natives"!

Fancy you learnt 1000 words of French and 10 irregular verbs and now they refuse to drop what they're doing and converse with you when you visit on holiday! Outrageous!

Really, they ought to be sued for $$$$ in damage for emotional injury!

I hold Sarkozy personally responsible for this serious provocation against the civilised (English speaking) world! Perhaps France is really on the Axis of Evil?
4 persons have voted this message useful



stout
Senior Member
Ireland
Joined 5159 days ago
108 posts - 140 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: French

 
 Message 101 of 139
16 March 2010 at 1:44am | IP Logged 
cordelia0507 wrote:
Darn right these frogs are "ungrateful natives"!

Fancy you learnt 1000 words of French and 10 irregular verbs and now they refuse to drop what they're doing and converse with you when you visit on holiday! Outrageous!

Really, they ought to be sued for $$$$ in damage for emotional injury!

I hold Sarkozy personally responsible for this serious provocation against the civilised (English speaking) world! Perhaps France is really on the Axis of Evil?


Yes you have a point about Mr Sarkozy.I think that in future I will take my holidays
in French-speaking Switzerland(La Suisse Romande)rather than in France.I feel that
the French-Swiss(Suisse Romands)are more easygoing and less strained than the French.
Yes the French and the Suisse Romands speak the same language and have almost the
same culture,but their mentalities are very different.

I think that the Suisse Romands are more tolerant and understanding of foreigners who
are not 100% fluent in the French language.In France they can sometimes be very rude
if you're not gifted with fluency in their language.The Suisse Romands are less stuck-up and less chavinistic about the French language than they are in France.



1 person has voted this message useful



elvisrules
Tetraglot
Senior Member
BelgiumRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5257 days ago
286 posts - 390 votes 
Speaks: French, English*, Dutch, Flemish
Studies: Lowland Scots, Japanese, German

 
 Message 102 of 139
16 March 2010 at 2:22am | IP Logged 
stout wrote:
cordelia0507 wrote:
Darn right these frogs are "ungrateful natives"!

Fancy you learnt 1000 words of French and 10 irregular verbs and now they refuse to drop what they're doing and converse with you when you visit on holiday! Outrageous!

Really, they ought to be sued for $$$$ in damage for emotional injury!

I hold Sarkozy personally responsible for this serious provocation against the civilised (English speaking) world! Perhaps France is really on the Axis of Evil?


Yes you have a point about Mr Sarkozy.I think that in future I will take my holidays
in French-speaking Switzerland(La Suisse Romande)rather than in France.I feel that
the French-Swiss(Suisse Romands)are more easygoing and less strained than the French.
Yes the French and the Suisse Romands speak the same language and have almost the
same culture,but their mentalities are very different.

I think that the Suisse Romands are more tolerant and understanding of foreigners who
are not 100% fluent in the French language.In France they can sometimes be very rude
if you're not gifted with fluency in their language.The Suisse Romands are less stuck-up and less chavinistic about the French language than they are in France.



Don't forget Belgium!
1 person has voted this message useful



robsolete
Diglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5173 days ago
191 posts - 428 votes 
Speaks: English*, Spanish
Studies: French, Russian, Arabic (Written), Mandarin

 
 Message 103 of 139
16 March 2010 at 3:22am | IP Logged 
Meh. Rant deleted upon further reflection. Two sentence summary: jerks are jerks everywhere, and the languages involved don't matter so much as respect should hopefully be something given freely to foreigners and locals alike regardless of language issues. Nobody is immune to criticism, since you don't need to be fluent in someone's language to be nice to them.

Edited by robsolete on 16 March 2010 at 5:54am
4 persons have voted this message useful



Sennin
Senior Member
Bulgaria
Joined 5822 days ago
1457 posts - 1759 votes 
5 sounds

 
 Message 104 of 139
16 March 2010 at 5:21am | IP Logged 
cordelia0507 wrote:
Really, they ought to be sued for $$$$ in damage for emotional injury!


Rather than complaining about ungrateful natives (or expecting financial compensation ;), language learners should develop thick skin. Using a foreign language invariably puts us in a vulnerable position; Various low life individuals are keen to exploit this, it's a fact of life that should be accepted in a manly way! ^_^. There are plenty of cool people to compensate for the jerks.

Edited by Sennin on 16 March 2010 at 5:22am


3 persons have voted this message useful



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