3 ms·
I have one theory: Americans are much more social than French people and expect the French to be as receptive as them to small talk with strangers. But we don’t
by baby 3y ago
I have one theory: Americans are much more social than French people and expect the French to be as receptive as them to small talk with strangers. But we don’t talk to strangers in France. We value our intimacy bubble and when someone talks to us out of nowhere we feel threatened. There are scripted scenarios for when strangers can interact: saying hi in the elevator is one example (and usually it doesn’t go further). Even the language with its formal pronoun is meant to add distance between you and people you don’t know.
- boudin 3y agoI don't think that's true. There's a lot of nuance, socialising is a complex mixture of things which varies a lot between and also within country. People coming with their home expectations and judging others based on it are often just seen as obnoxious and disrespectful from an outside point of view. As an example, in France it's quite common to tease/gently mock people you're friend with. Some insults can even be used in a friendly way. This is something that doesn't fly AT ALL in a lot of places and, as a french, you have to be really careful with when meeting non-french. If not, you are just being super mean instead of trying to be friendly. As well, the American way of using a lot of superlatives, being overly excited about things that are not that exciting can been seen as fake and disrespectful, in a lot of other places.