4 ms·
Hm. I am an American, but maybe that American optimism stuff explains some friction I have had at work. I find that being optimistic when important things aren'
by ilaksh 4y ago
Hm. I am an American, but maybe that American optimism stuff explains some friction I have had at work. I find that being optimistic when important things aren't working is stupid and increases risk.
- nolok 4y agoUs frenchmen, on a world scale, tend to be direct, realist and pessimist. So american optimism is really jarring at first until you get used to it.
- tnel77 4y agoI went on a cruise and met some Canadians (they told me). I noticed they were speaking French and said “Is that French you’re speaking?” “Yes.” “That’s really cool! What part of Canada are you from?” “The part that speaks French.” I just frowned and walked off as it was meant to be a polite question. An educated guess would have said that they were from “the French speaking part of Canada,” but I guess they didn’t like small talk. In hindsight, I find that interaction funny.
- yamazakiwi 4y agoI wouldn't be able to tell if they were being cheeky or avoiding small-talk in that instance. I could be wrong but as a Non-French speaker I've heard that French banter is a little snide or pedantic in nature on purpose but generally not meant to be mean-spirited. Kind of like when a friend says "No Shit Sherlock" but with less enthusiasm.
- tnel77 4y agoTheir facial expressions said they were annoyed with me, but I could have been mistaken!
- dutchCourage 4y agoAlso they're forgetting than Québec is not the only french speaking area of the country! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language_in_Canada https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language_in_Canada
- unconed 4y agoYour say "direct", but in my experience French business communication is ridiculously convoluted, bordering on the baroque. "Dear Sir, I hope this message finds you well and in good spirits. Would it be possible to arrange a meeting by telephone in the near future, perhaps even the next week, if that fits with your calendar? I would shame myself if I neglected to mention that I will prepare the requested documents at the earliest convenience." Is how I can only describe it.
- yoz-y 4y agoAh yes. Any sort of official French written communication is drowned in this sort of drivel.
- 8note 4y agoI think an optimistic look at important things being broken is that you have an opportunity to learn more about those things, and make changes both to fix it and avoid the same problem again.
- andrewflnr 4y agoThat's more reasonable, but it's not (AFAICT, anyway) the kind of optimism being discussed as "American optimism".