Language Barrier: French Edition

Before entering France most people brace for the worst, hearing that the French are rude or abrasive. When I went to Paris I was prepared to do anything to find the exception to the rule. There had to be something I could do to see the lovely side of the French people.

The stored list of French words I used in my iPhone!

There is a solution. Attempting to speak the language amasses brownie points and help from all sorts of people. The words to know are “hello”, “thank you” and “I don’t speak French”. The trick is that you use your French words in all French interactions.  This includes at an attraction, any restaurant form five-star to fast-food and people on the street when you ask for directions. People will appreciate if you make the effort to speak the language that the French value so much.

 Laws are intact to continue the use of French. For example, a quota of 40% of French music must be played on the radio to continue the diversity of music and stop foreign music and language from stifling the French.

Preparing for an evening at the Eiffel Tower!

France also has L'Académie Française or the French Academy which was established in 1634 to regulate French grammar, literature, and spelling and to keep the purity of the French language. The Academy is still open today and making recommendations about current issues concerning language.

The French take pride in their history and language, so any effort to brokenly speak French should be taken. By a few small steps you can avoid the “rude French”.

Golden Words:

Hello: Bonjour (bon-joor)

Thank you: Merci (Mer-si)

Sorry: Pardon (Per-dón)

I don’t speak French. English? : Je ne parle pas francais. Anglais? (jay nay par-lay pas fran-ces. Ahn-gleh?)

Do you speak English? : Parlez-vous anglais? (par-lay vou ahn-gleh)

Mind the Gap

Don't waste your money on a taxi or rental car when public transportation is just around every corner. In England, Germany, Italy, France, etc. there is the tube, u-bahn, metro, and/or métro. These public transportation trains can be compared to the D.C. metro or the NY subway system.

Not only are there several stations spread through every part of major cities, but they are almost always conveniently located next to major tourist destinations. In London to see the Queen? Try the Green Park station next to Buckingham Palace. In Rome and in need of a stroll through the Colosseum? Try the Colosseo, Line B of the Rome Metro. A traveler can navigate from the airport to the entrance of Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany or navigate through Paris, France to the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre using their Métro lines.

These trains all provide visitor rail passes, resident passes, day passes, or one way tickets. They are flexible to a traveler's stay, and most are open from early morning to later at night. Countries are making it more convenient to commute this way, and these commute methods are quick and efficient. Check out their individual sites for ticket pricing, and consider this as a primary travel method when overseas. 

So next time you're abroad, if you need to get somewhere a little too far for a walk or want to arrive quickly, take the trains.