French culture

Language is not just a mixture of symbols and words, it's a treasure trove of meanings and senses which form our outlook, our national culture. The language and culture are interconnected. The notion of time, distance, state is different in various cultures. Some notions exist in one language, but they don't exist in another.

We can say "good morning", "good afternoon" in English, there is in French it's possible to say only bonjour and bonsoir. Interestingly, there is no phrase in French that would literally mean "good morning". Does it mean that Frencmen don't like morning and prefer staying in bed late (faire la grasse matinée)?

Answers to such lexical questions should be found in the native language environment because the style of life and outlook are closely connected with their language.

I had the chance to feel and love the language of Molière since the first year of university, when I went to French classes filled with inspiration. Our teacher was a pure incarnation of the French culture — careless and easy-going. We weren't given plenty of homework and didn't experience any psychological pressure typical of our universities. Each lesson offered pleasant learning experience coupled with anecdotes about Frenchmen and their outlook. Back at that epoch I learnt the basic concepts of the French culture reflected in the French language.

It's not enough to say that Frenchmen are very polite. They always try to be friendly in communication. Since their early childhood small kids are taught to say hello, hold a door before older people and show other signs of attention, which means faire preuve d'aimabilité (show amiability).

Politeness is tightly connected with kindness and kind Ça va ? (how are you?).
Similarly, like after the English How are you doing it's expected to hear ça va bien (all right). It's just a cliché phrase to start a conversation. A talk is likely to end with the phrase bonne journée/bonne soirée (have a nice day/evening).

At first glance, it may seem that such openness is something contrived and superficial. I would partly agree on that.

During my university years I turned out to be on the Mars field in Paris together with other foreign students. We had a picnic on the grass waiting for a concert near the Eiffel tower. Some people from our group, tired of staying motionless for so long, left us for a while, expecting us to keep their "seats" for them (just to be clear, the Mars field is overcrowded on 14 July). After a while some strangers came up to us intending to take that piece of "booked" land. They asked us if it was ok to sit in that area, it didn't take long our Frenchman to answer, "you're welcome". We had to remind him to remember about our group first, so he had to correct his answer and justify himself saying "it's just the matter of amiability".

So, this national trait is recognized by Frenchmen.

I've never met a single Frenchman who wouldn't like to talk. Talk is a part of their culture, a part of their art de vivre (art of life).

Each meal in France is accompanied with talks and jokes, especially dinner. Dinner for Frenchmen is sacrosanct. It usually starts late at 7-8 p.m. Frenchmen may have dinner during news of 8 p.m., and then stay at a table for a long time to discuss something.
We followed the same routine in our volunteers' camp in Paris. We went out to a patio, brought salads and drinks. After finishing our meal we stayed for a while with our French camp leaders.
Sometimes the talk may turn into a discussion or a dispute, and if somebody interrupts you it doesn't mean that the Frenchman is not well educated, it means he is passionate about the talk. Interrupting your interlocutor in the French culture is a norm. Disagree with your interlocutor and use logical thinking is a norm. This craving for dispute typical of Frenchmen is referred to as the heritage of the French cartesian philosopher René Descartes. There is even a term in the French language to imply this concept — l'esprit cartésien, which means logical thinking, pragmatism.

That's true, there are pragmatism and bright mind, but how can they match with this untranslatable phrase with a pun « Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît pas » ? (literally "The heart has its reasons that the mind doesn't understand)

The famous French concept of joie de vivre (literally joy of living) is felt in all French environment. Relaxed approach to life, the ability to get cheer and feel happy at any age.

My first memory about France is talking to a shop assistant in the airport who appeared to be like an unreal person, like Amélie Poulain from the film. I was surprised by such a polite way of communication from a shop assistant who talked to a client as if she was her old friend.
Passion for life is felt during a city run in Paris when Frenchmen get out at the streets at the week-end to encourage runners.
Passion for life is felt when at a national holiday there are plenty of couples at an advanced age who didn't forget how to enjoy themselves despite their age. What is surprising is the way they look: elegant and exquisite beauty, a scarf and perfume.

This simple approach is reflected lexically. I lost count how many times I heard the typical French « ce n'est pas grave » (no worries), when something went wrong. I felt like it was the second top phrase used in France after ça va.

The reverse side of the French carelessness is its extreme meaning — je-m'en-foutisme (apathetic attitude). Frankly speaking, I don't know which phrase I heard more je m'en fous (litterally I spit) or je rigole (literally I'm joking).
As a result, here comes carelessness to what is considered unimportant. For some cultures this carelessness would be totally unacceptable.

The famous phrase « Mieux vaut pleurer de rien que rire de tout »(literally "It's better to cry because of trfile rather than make jokes about everything) is unlikely to be said about Frenchmen.

A very important phrase in the French culture — je rigole (literally "I'm joking"). You can hear it so often that it will make you crazy. Is it possible to make jokes about everything? It is. That's why Frenchmen got this reputation of scoffers (moqueurs), but a part of truth is usually hidden by the irony.
The importance of humour in the French culture is proven by a variety of synonyms of the verb rigoler. Rire, blaguer, plaisanter, se marrer, se moquer and +25 more synonymes for the word "make jokes" with differences nuances of meaning. While plaisanter and blaguer (spoken) mean harmless humour, se moquer is a mockery.

One more heritage of Frenchmen is habitude de râler (the habit to grumble). Frenchmen acknowledge their habit to grumble saying that it enables them to maintain a high standard of life defending their rights.
Not only once will you hear annoyed Frenchmen saying ce n'importe quoi, c'est horrible and many others.
Being surrounded by Frenchmen I often noticed constant complaints about everything. How this habit combines with carelessness and relaxed approach is a mystery. Curiously, the habit to complain about something is the best topic for socializing with people around as it is the case about weather talk in Great Britain.

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