Why the French Don't Speak Any Other Language
By notafish on Saturday, October 4 2008, 15:42 - communication(s) - Permalink
Now here is a commonplace. I believe I have heard this a million times.
The French are terrible, they won't ever speak to you in English or any other language and if you address them in English, they'll be very unpolite and unfriendly.
I have been thinking about this a lot, and I thought I'd share with you the fruit of my thinking. Trying to un-common the commonplace.
Any French person who's studied as far as the baccalaureate has had at least 8 years of classes in a foreign language and possibly 2 to 5 years in another. Now make that studied until they were 15 (not as far as high school), that's still 3 years in a language. The statistics are amazing. In 2006 [1], 99% of French students in the secondary education are learning a language,
The French educational system introduces the first foreign language (première langue vivante) at the beginning of the secondary cycle (classe de sixième - around 11/12 years old). The first language learned is English 92%, followed by German, 7.5%. A second language is then introduced two years later (classe de quatrième - 13/14 years old). Spanish mostly (70%), then German (14%).
So how come the French won't ever speak to you in another language?
Well here is my theory.
French is a language which, if you don't speak it properly, is difficult to understand. Structure being so important and all. So French speakers are afraid, when they don't master a foreign language, that they won't be understood. That's the first reason, I think.
Then comes the "proud" factor. The French educational system, while not being the worst, is definitely not the best when it comes to languages. French students are usually really good at grammar, but can't say a word, because they are rarely taught in a conversational way. And the French are convinced that they are really bad at languages (a stereotype that sticks). So when you go to a French person in the street and ask, in English:
Hi, do you speak English?
You're bound to get the answer:
Non.
And that's it. So try this. Next time you're wandering French streets and are lost, find someone and tell them, in the worst French you can master:
Bonjour, je suis désolé(e) je ne parle pas français, est-ce que vous parlez anglais ? (Hi, I'm sorry, I don't speak French, do you speak English?)
I bet you that the French will then answer, in a broken, accent-ridden, but totally bearable English
Yes, a little bit.
The thing is, if you put yourself at the level of knowledge the French think they're at when it comes to speaking a foreign language (ie. me no speak), you're showing them that you are as bad as they (think they) are in a foreign language. Doing this, you break the barrier and show them that you are willing to admit that you're the one who does not speak their language in the first place and that if they speak to you in English, however wrong their grammar or accent is, they won't be utterly ridiculous.
It's all about putting yourself on the same level, to avoid any kind of hierarchy that would hinder the communication channel.
Notes
[1] See the file: Etude des langues vivantes dans le second degré
Comments
I don't know if it's specific to French people, but I've noticed that speaking in another language is really a matter of self-confidence. Most people just dare not speak because they think they're not good enough, even if they would be able to speak quite well in the language.
I completely agree with you. It was like that with the Spanish Speaking people in South Texas. I was a new nurse from Canada and having taken on a nursing contract in a predominantly Spanish Speaking area - it was exactly as you described. Especially as a nurse I found that communication always started off in the right foot if you placed yourself on the same level as your patient, (physical level and use of vocab). Very good article D!
I've always found that "je suis australien" or (plutôt) "be me suis pas un rosbif" works well too! :-)
But it is interesting that the discussion is always about why the French are reluctant to speak a language they know - and not why the Anglos (like me) are reluctant to learn languages in the first place. You're right - even attempting to speak something in the local tongue us always the best start.
I've found, contrary to what you say, that feench are quite acommodating of others speaking it badly - it's the Germans who are picky when one tries and fails :-p
More generally, the biggest impact in the high quality of foreign language skills in Scandinavia comes IMO from the fact that their tv is subtitled, not dubbed.
Bravo Delphine! but how did you say that in French? :-D
Quite insightful!
Not sure much could be linked to the structure of the French language but French language ideology does put emphasis on normative/prescriptive language, making it harder for French-speakers to switch to the usage-based language ideology of English-speakers. Getting English-speakers to understand this distinction is, IMHO, an excellent way to improve communication between the two groups.
This is sound advice for every country, really. Italians and Spaniards hate it too when you ask for something directly in English. I once read a funny warning in a Madrid restaurant: "We don't speak English, but we promise we won't laugh at your Spanish".
A week ago a couple of American tourists approached me at a bus station in Paris. Without saying "hello" or "excuse me", they told me: "do you speak any English at all?" Well that's probably the worst introduction ever!
Interesting thoughts.
However, as a professional translator and interpreter (among other things,) I have noticed that even the absolutely best translators - or just people who are fluent in different languages (from different linguistic groups) - have to perform a visibly straining "shift" of mind when switching to French.
Also, I have noticed that literary translations FROM French tend to be less smooth - more awkward - than translations from most other European languages into another European language; or if they are smooth, their authors will usually readily admit that the translation from French required more effort than translating from other European language.
The reason is the syntax - which, naturally, betrays the structure of thought. And, amazingly enough, that structure IS considerably different to the structure of most other European languages I am familiar with. To put it very simply: the "logic" underlying the French language seems to be considerably different from the "logic" of other European languages. (Think about it: who on earth would define 90 as "four times twenty and ten"? ;:)
I wish I had the time and the space to consider the possible anthropological and/or historical reasons for that - but I don't. ;:)
Somebody else, perhaps? ::)
Ça me rappelle l'époque où je perdais (?) mon temps comme réceptionniste de nuit (le vrai titre était veilleur de nuit, mais bon, quand on prend des réservations téléphoniques provenant des States à une heure du mat', on fait de la réception...) dans un hôtel de luxe à proximité immédiate d'Avignon.
La clientèle était à 40 % américaine, en moyenne, et j'avais trouvé un excellent truc lorsque le client ou l'interlocuteur, qu'il soit devant moi ou au bout du fil, me demandait : « Do you speak English? ». Je répondais invariablement : « Yes, a few words, but you'll have to speak very slowly, because it's not my mother tongue. » On le croira si on veut, mais cela marchait « parfaitement », et je parvenais souvent à des échanges fructueux (même lorsque je tombais sur un client qui avait une envie subite de sandwiches à trois heures du matin, ce en quoi je m'efforçais de lui donner satisfaction, dans la mesure de mes moyens).