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    French Culture

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    Larah May Docusin
    French people use many distinctive gestures in their communication and etiquette. Some examples include: 1. Counting on fingers starting with the thumb instead of index finger. 2. The "bise", or kissing both cheeks as a greeting between acquaintances and friends. 3. Rubbing the fist against the nose to indicate drunkenness. 4. Different cultures have varying norms around greetings, physical contact, eye contact, and smiling that can often lead to misunderstandings if unfamiliar with the customs of that culture. Cross-cultural awareness of these differences is important.

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    French Culture

    Uploaded by

    Larah May Docusin
    182 views6 pages
    French people use many distinctive gestures in their communication and etiquette. Some examples include: 1. Counting on fingers starting with the thumb instead of index finger. 2. The "bise", or kissing both cheeks as a greeting between acquaintances and friends. 3. Rubbing the fist against the nose to indicate drunkenness. 4. Different cultures have varying norms around greetings, physical contact, eye contact, and smiling that can often lead to misunderstandings if unfamiliar with the customs of that culture. Cross-cultural awareness of these differences is important.

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    French people use many distinctive gestures in their communication and etiquette. Some examples include: 1. Counting on fingers starting with the thumb instead of index finger. 2. The "bise", or kissing both cheeks as a greeting between acquaintances and friends. 3. Rubbing the fist against the nose to indicate drunkenness. 4. Different cultures have varying norms around greetings, physical contact, eye contact, and smiling that can often lead to misunderstandings if unfamiliar with the customs of that culture. Cross-cultural awareness of these differences is important.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    182 views6 pages

    French Culture

    Uploaded by

    Larah May Docusin
    French people use many distinctive gestures in their communication and etiquette. Some examples include: 1. Counting on fingers starting with the thumb instead of index finger. 2. The "bise", or kissing both cheeks as a greeting between acquaintances and friends. 3. Rubbing the fist against the nose to indicate drunkenness. 4. Different cultures have varying norms around greetings, physical contact, eye contact, and smiling that can often lead to misunderstandings if unfamiliar with the customs of that culture. Cross-cultural awareness of these differences is important.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    of 6

    French Culture

    10 TYPICAL FRENCH GESTURES

    #1 – Un, deux, trois (counting on our fingers 1,2,3…)


    When counting on their fingers, French do not start with the index finger, but
    with the thumb. Also, when using their finger to say “there is one…” they are
    showing the thumb, not the index finger.

    # 2 – La Bise (the kiss on the cheek)


    La bise is actually not only French as it’s common in
    most Europe. La bise is when people touch cheek to
    cheek while making a kiss sound with the
    mouth. The mouth is not supposed to touch the
    cheek. Now if you want to be very loving, like kissing
    your kids or parents, or someone very close you can
    make mouth cheek contact.
    La bise is used to say, hello, good bye, and show
    appreciation such as thank you.
    # 3 – Il a un verre dans le nez (literally means “he
    has a glass in the nose” common slang for he’s
    drunk)
    If you are talking about someone who has drank a
    bit too much or is actually drunk, you are going to
    close your fist and make a rotation gesture in front
    of your nose.

    #4– Il a du nez (literally means “he has nose“slang for “he has insights or
    intuition)

    # 5 – Mon Oeil (literally “my eye” meaning, no way, I


    don’t buy it)
    When doubting something to the point of not believing
    it we say “mon oeil” as we gently pull the lower lid of
    one eye down. This is the polite, but very much used
    version of “my butt” or “my ass” in France.
    # 6 – Je ne suis pas sure Shred of shoulders (I’m not sure, maybe)
    Shredding your shoulders in France doesn’t mean the same thing as it does here.
    In France it simply mean OK maybe, but I’m not sure, as you wish.

    # 7 – Ça me barbe (literally means “it beards me” meaning I’m bored or


    annoyed)
    To express this we rub the back of our hand against our cheek in a rather fast
    back and forth fashion.
    #8 – Y’a du fric “there’s lots of money” or “it
    cost lots of money”
    Quia.com
    “fric” is the slang word for “argent”(money)
    This gesture is rubbing the fingers of your right
    hand together with the palm of your hand facing
    up
    # 9 – Barrons-nous (Literally meant “let’s scratch ourselves” French slang for
    let’s go or let’s get out of here)

    To express this, people usually tap their left wrist with


    opposite hand in a fast motion.

    # 10 – The Bad Gesture! Le Bras d’Honneur!

    There is no showing of the finger in France the way people do


    here in the United States, but they is an equivalent which is
    closing your fist and taping your farm with your hand has you
    lift your arm in the air.
    It’s called “un bras d’honneur“, which means an arm of
    honor, while it’s the worst insulting gesture in France. Go
    figure!
    Different cultures show politeness , greetings, love and contempt
    Modern Etiquette: Different cultures have different greetings

    •When greeting Asians for the first time, it is a good general rule not to initiate the
    handshake. You may be forcing physical contact that the other person finds
    uncomfortable. Many Asians, particularly the Japanese, have learned to accept the
    handshake when dealing with Westerners. Since the bow is the customary greeting in
    Japan, a slight bow of the head when responding to a proffered handshake greeting is
    appropriate.

    • Most Latins are more accustomed to physical contact. Even people who know each
    other only slightly may embrace as a greeting.

    • As for the Middle East, Muslims and Orthodox Jews avoid body contact with the
    opposite sex, but people of the same sex commonly hug when greeting each other.
    When shaking hands, men should be careful not to pull their hands away too quickly.

    •People from France, Spain, Italy and Portugal greet friends by kissing on both cheeks.
    •The smile is the near-universal gesture of friendliness, and, in America, its meaning is
    usually clear. In other cultures, the smile may be sending other signals. In some Latin
    cultures, for example, the smile may be used to say “Excuse me,” or “Please.”

    • If a person from another culture does not return your greeting smile, it doesn’t indicate
    hostility or bad manners. In some Asian cultures, smiling is a gesture reserved for
    informal occasions, and smiling while being formally introduced would be considered
    disrespectful.

    • In many cultures, avoiding eye contact is a sign of respect. This can lead to
    misunderstandings. For example, there have been many cases of customers in the United
    States deciding they are being treated disrespectfully by Korean shopkeepers who would
    not look them in the eye.

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