I had to go to Paris every month for about 18 months in the late '70's, and my schoolboy French improved rapidly under the kindly guidance of my French colleagues: outside the office too, people I encountered, mainly waiters and waitresses (I refuse to use 'waitpersons' on the grounds it is an abomination) were always understanding of my usually halting attempts to make myself understood. The worst example of refusal to even try was the English family I encountered who had been in Paris for a week, only ever shouted at the French in English, and complained that they hadn't eaten any decent food since they had been there: hardly surprising, what they did eat probably contained significant amounts of sputum too after they had abused the staff..they were also seated in what I discovered later was in fact one of the worst restaurants on the Champs-Elysée.
Faut être sympa, je crois! John in Brisbane -----Original Message----- From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of Bob W Sent: Monday, 8 March 2010 6:28 PM To: 'Pentax-Discuss Mail List' Subject: RE: UK: Photographer films his own 'anti-terror' arrest, February 2010 > > > > I always thought the French treated you better if you at > least made an > > attempt at speaking French, live and learn. > > > > No, they hate you even more for trying to mock them. > They are a very odd group of people. > In their defence, I don't think they are any odder than the rest of us. I've always found them perfectly friendly and very patient with my attempts to speak French. I have seen them being impatient and frustrated with people who don't speak French, but probably rather less so than an Anglo-Saxon confronted by a Frenchman who has the temerity not to speak English. Consider the people of Hartlepool: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_hanger> Salut les mecs! -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
