I was walking along the street of Paris with my family when we chanced upon this souvenir shop that sold rather unique sculptures and art pieces. Intrigued by one of the miniature table sculptures, I went up to the salesperson to enquire about the price. Not knowing a single of word of French except bonjour (which means good day), I tried to communicate with her in English since I had the mindset that people in France knew the English language and that it was a souvenir shop, she should be able to communicate English (being the universal language) to her foreign customers. But to my surprise, I got a reply in French which of course I didn't understand. I tried to ask if she knew how to speak English but I still got a reply in French. So just when I was about to turn away, a local middle-aged lady went up to me and answered my question in English! But before I could thank her, she turned to the salesperson and said something in French. It sounded as if she was talking about me based on how I interpreted her non-verbal actions. Finally when I had the chance to thank her for helping me to translate, she then told me that most of the people in this country do not speak the English language even if they know the language. Many will feel irritated if foreigners speak to them in English as French is their lingua franca. With this sudden realization, I ended the conversation with her for fear of irritating her.
It made me ponder why the local people there do not wish to speak the English language. I came to know that they are actually very proud of their language, culture and country. They would require foreigners to show respect to their language by trying to communicate with them in French when in their country, even if its just basic French.
So to give everybody a tip when going to France, try to learn a few basic French phrases like Bonjour Monsieur, parlez-vous anglais? which means Hello, do you speak English? When making an effort to speak their language, they will then be willing to communicate with you. So here is a website which I thought would be useful for those who want to learn some basic French or German language: http://www.uwosh.edu/home_pages/faculty_staff/minniear/pages/LanguageAids.pdf. Have fun learning! Hahas :)
It made me ponder why the local people there do not wish to speak the English language. I came to know that they are actually very proud of their language, culture and country. They would require foreigners to show respect to their language by trying to communicate with them in French when in their country, even if its just basic French.
So to give everybody a tip when going to France, try to learn a few basic French phrases like Bonjour Monsieur, parlez-vous anglais? which means Hello, do you speak English? When making an effort to speak their language, they will then be willing to communicate with you. So here is a website which I thought would be useful for those who want to learn some basic French or German language: http://www.uwosh.edu/home_pages/faculty_staff/minniear/pages/LanguageAids.pdf. Have fun learning! Hahas :)
