rant about french snobbery
 

allow me to vent some comments about the French snobbery I experienced in Paris.We had language hiccups twice on our trip:with half of the RATP Ticket sellers we met and Airport passport control.Who the hell employs a passport control officer in an airport who cant(or is not willing) to speak english!We struggled to speak french and still they did not make any effort to ease communication. Luckily we didnt need to ask much as we had recieved tons of help from the people here at fodors.that said some of the french staff at RATP, those in the louvre,versailles and at our hotel were very patient and accomodating(even taking time to teach us words) and made up for the others.

Sam

Sounds to me like you got the traditional froggie-style welcome

with some imagination maybe the french can turn this into a must do in Paris:get your passport stamped "personne fâcheux: ne parle pas francais" by a real non english speaking passport officer for 2 euros. Sam

How did you get the passport issue resolved?

I'm not even sure what language the passport official at CDG spoke. I remember he seemed like the most bored person imaginable but it took less than 30 seconds to get through.

With RATP, I noticed that a couple of Japanese girls in front of me had written down what they wanted (a Carte Orange), showed it to the clerk, and everything proceeded smoothly. I wouldn't expect RATP ticket sellers to speak a second language - it's totally a bonus if they do.

Glad you had good experiences elsewhere.

<i>&quot;Luckily we didnt need to ask much as we had recieved tons of help from the people here at fodors.&quot;</i>

Foreign language study here at Travel Talk? Thank you for my laugh of the day. I'm sure the French had good reason to correct you if you acquired your skills here. Anything else troubling you?

&gt;Who the hell employs a passport control officer in an airport who cant(or is not willing) to speak english!&lt;

The same guys who hire INS people in the US who speak only English.

Sorry, that's now USCIS

Or maybe I meant USC&amp;BP

I've passed through the Douanes at Roissy many times and have never had an occasion or the will to speak to Customs officers? I've never seen them speak to any American-looking type. It was funny though that a few years ago both Customs officials standing by the exit were puffing away on cigarettes, right in front of a large no-smoking pictogram!

How many people who sell tickets for public transportation in American cities speak French?

I guess I just expect this sort of thing to happen a few times on a trip. Not everyone in customer service is friendly. Not everyone speaks English.

Unless you actually witnessed these officials speaking fluent English to others, it's likely that they indeed do not speak English or are not comfortable speaking English. It's been my experience that many French people truly do not speak/understand much English, and those who do say they speak/understand &quot;a bit&quot; are often clearly struggling. There's a noticeable difference between the situation in France and that in certain other W. European countries (e.g., Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, etc.) where many people do speak fluent or very good English. But I don't see how not speaking a particular language can be described as &quot;snobbery&quot;.

I'm also curious about what you needed to discuss with the passport control person. As many times as I've gone in and out of France, I can't ever recall doing any more thatnhim a passport, having him look at me, watching him stamp it, and giving it back. I have no idea whether any of them spoke English or not and really don't care. What did you need to talk with them about?

I find it interesting to see all the discussion about the French who are snobs, have an attitude, won't speak anything but French, etc.

The vast majority of Americans believe their way of government, business, etc. is the most superior. They can't imagine that another country might do even 1 or 2 things a little better.

Many if not most Americans do not speak a second language and would have less than kind words if you expected them to speak anything other than English. Try walking up to a clerk in Wal-Mart and asking for a size 22 (metric) shoe in German. When you don't get a response repeat the question more loudly.

I have an in-law who thinks it's ridiculous that she has to push a button on the ATM in the US that asks whether you want to proceed in English or Spanish. When I ask if the converse is true that she thinks a foreign ATM should never have an English option I'm looked at as if I'm stupid.

Maybe the reason there's such friction between French and Americans is that they are way more similar than different.

Those are really good points, Indy.

I actually feel guilty when I catch myself expecting everyone to speak English. I'm not fluent in a second language myself! But I do live in a big city and I try to remember that often big-city people aren't friendly. It's nothing personal. And if someone doesn't like me simply because I'm an American, what can I do about it? Nothing!

I don't mean want to add fuel to fire or whatever, but I do think that English has become sort of lingua franca. This perception is furthered by the constant refrain that &quot;everyone speaks English.&quot; So I don't think that it's that unreasonable to expect that a typical French person will speak some English. On the other hand, it's certainly more unreasonable to expect a typical American to know French or German.

Anyway, personally I think that English has acquired a rather dominant status -- like it or not.

I do agree that English has acquired a dominant status. But I still don't want to assume that most Europeans speak it. I think many of them get by fine their entire lives without knowing any English. I suppose it does depend on your job and where you live.

I don't know... somehow it just makes me feel uncomfortable.

I'm not saying that it's right to assume it, but I'm just trying to explain why people in general may feel that way -- that &quot;everyone speaks English.&quot;

All I'm trying to say is that the French/English vs. the American/French comparision is not completely realistic. It doesn't take into account the fact that English has acquired a dominant position.

Americans speak English???

Be nice, now, raspberry. :-)