I was reading this article on Expatica, and I felt the need to comment on it.
While I agree that mastering the use of "ah bon" might help non-native speakers, using it too often will make you look like a retard who can't say anything else.
As for body language, I personally think that it conveys no more than 5% of the meaning in a conversation. What one wears is actually more important (maybe 10 to 20%). The occasional "ah bon" doesn't exceed 2 or 3% of the information exchanged in a conversation, which leaves over 70% for the actual words.
French speakers are in fact very fussy about words and grammatical structures. It is very common (probably more than in any other culture) to be scolded in public, even by strangers, for not using a word, a tense, or an expression properly. That even happens in TV debates. The French will also fuss about the way you expressed an idea, and even if they understand what you mean, they will argue your point just on the way you explained it. This is certainly due to the rigid French education system regarding the teaching of French language (to native speakers).
A famous joke about the French is that had Shakespeare been a Frenchman, he would have said "To be or not to be, this is the question, but the question is badly formulated."
I mean, that's no wonder that the French are so intolerant about the mistakes and imperfections of non-native speakers. I confirm it as a native French speaker who has learnt many languages and lived in many countries. Nowhere else on earth have I seen people laughing at or discouraging people trying to speak the local language than in French-speaking Europe. Belgium is a good example. The country is about 2/3 Dutch speaking and 1/3 French speaking, but the French often make fun of Dutch speakers' accent or small mistakes, even when their French is almost perfect. And French speakers more often than not cannot speak Dutch. No wonder that the Flemings want their independence ! Yet I have found the French to be even more intolerant, justly because they were not educated in a bilingual country.
So I am quite revolted when I read in this article that the author says :
It may seem true on a superficial level, because many French speakers are too hypocritical to just tell people to their face that their accent or grammar suck. But many of them will behind your back, and if they don't, most will still think it.
It's fairly normal as the French government has tried hard to erradicate local accents in French so that everybody speaks perfect Parisian French everywhere in the country (at least in the northern half). Generations of French people were told that there was only ONE right pronuciation, and were made fun of at school if they spoke in a regional accent. This is less the case in Belgium though (only elitist school scorn regional accents), and the French often make fun of what they call the "Belgian accent" (in fact the Dutch accent in French, typical also among some native French speakers in Brussels). The Quebecois are always laughed at for their accent. If the French laugh even at other native French speakers, how could they not laugh at non native speakers with an even stronger accent ?
I strongly disagree. The French, like other Latins, like to speak as much as possible and even parler pour ne rien dire ("speak to say nothing") as we say in French. Just listen a debate on French TV to be convinced that the French can stop talking, even when they should or are told to. The Japanese on the other do try hard to be as quiet and concise as possible.
Expatica said:If you can master this one expression in all its infinite variety of inflexion and intonation, (also innuendo and insinuation), then not only will you find most of your daily communication needs answered but you can actually convince people that you speak French much, much better than you really do.
This is because French is a language where the less said the better. Social anthropologists call this an “implicit” culture where much of the information exchange is implied; it’s between the lines where all the communicating happens. Japan―where famously people go to great lengths to avoid saying no― is another example. This, as opposed to Anglo-Saxon cultures―most especially American culture―where information is communicated explicitly, in the form of words, and verbal subtlety can be considered morally suspect.
You’ve read, I’m sure, where 60 percent of communication is body language? [I actually made that number up. But I know it’s supposed to be a big number.] Well, in French, it’s 60 percent body language, 15 percent what you’re wearing, and 20 percent “Ah, bon”. That means only five percent is actual words anyway, so spending a lot of time learning them is an exercise in diminishing returns.
While I agree that mastering the use of "ah bon" might help non-native speakers, using it too often will make you look like a retard who can't say anything else.
As for body language, I personally think that it conveys no more than 5% of the meaning in a conversation. What one wears is actually more important (maybe 10 to 20%). The occasional "ah bon" doesn't exceed 2 or 3% of the information exchanged in a conversation, which leaves over 70% for the actual words.
French speakers are in fact very fussy about words and grammatical structures. It is very common (probably more than in any other culture) to be scolded in public, even by strangers, for not using a word, a tense, or an expression properly. That even happens in TV debates. The French will also fuss about the way you expressed an idea, and even if they understand what you mean, they will argue your point just on the way you explained it. This is certainly due to the rigid French education system regarding the teaching of French language (to native speakers).
A famous joke about the French is that had Shakespeare been a Frenchman, he would have said "To be or not to be, this is the question, but the question is badly formulated."
I mean, that's no wonder that the French are so intolerant about the mistakes and imperfections of non-native speakers. I confirm it as a native French speaker who has learnt many languages and lived in many countries. Nowhere else on earth have I seen people laughing at or discouraging people trying to speak the local language than in French-speaking Europe. Belgium is a good example. The country is about 2/3 Dutch speaking and 1/3 French speaking, but the French often make fun of Dutch speakers' accent or small mistakes, even when their French is almost perfect. And French speakers more often than not cannot speak Dutch. No wonder that the Flemings want their independence ! Yet I have found the French to be even more intolerant, justly because they were not educated in a bilingual country.
So I am quite revolted when I read in this article that the author says :
Expatica said:I would estimate that 98.276 percent of all French people I meet fall somewhere between "pleasantly surprised" and "actively encouraging and supportive" when they meet a French-speaking foreigner.
It may seem true on a superficial level, because many French speakers are too hypocritical to just tell people to their face that their accent or grammar suck. But many of them will behind your back, and if they don't, most will still think it.
It's fairly normal as the French government has tried hard to erradicate local accents in French so that everybody speaks perfect Parisian French everywhere in the country (at least in the northern half). Generations of French people were told that there was only ONE right pronuciation, and were made fun of at school if they spoke in a regional accent. This is less the case in Belgium though (only elitist school scorn regional accents), and the French often make fun of what they call the "Belgian accent" (in fact the Dutch accent in French, typical also among some native French speakers in Brussels). The Quebecois are always laughed at for their accent. If the French laugh even at other native French speakers, how could they not laugh at non native speakers with an even stronger accent ?
But really, I can’t overemphasize the importance in French of saying as little as possible.
I strongly disagree. The French, like other Latins, like to speak as much as possible and even parler pour ne rien dire ("speak to say nothing") as we say in French. Just listen a debate on French TV to be convinced that the French can stop talking, even when they should or are told to. The Japanese on the other do try hard to be as quiet and concise as possible.