BONJOUR EFFECT: THE SECRET CODES OF FRENCH CONVERSATION REVEALED

Author: BARLOW JULIE

Publisher: ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN

ISBN: 9781250130273

Publication Date: May 9, 2017

Description: Most of what we know about the French comes from what the French say about themselves. Yet how are we supposed to understand a people who say non when they mean yes who never say I don't know even when they really don't and who argue at the drop of a hat? Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow spent a decade traveling to and also living in Paris. In The Bonjour Effect they chronicle the lessons they learned after returning to France to live for a year with their twin daughters. In a book as fizzy as a bottle of French champagne they reveal the most important lesson of all: the French don't communicate they converse. To understand and speak French well one must understand that French conversation runs on a set of rules that go to the heart of French culture. Why do the French like talking about the decline of France? Why does broaching a subject like money end discussions? Through encounters with school principals city hall civil servants gas company employees old friends and business acquaintances Julie and Jean-Benoit explain why culturally and historically conversation with the French is not about communicating or being nice. It's about being interesting. After reading The Bonjour Effect even readers with a modicum of French language ability will be able to hold their own the next time they step into a crowded bus a beloved boulangerie or a bistro on the Left Bank.

Type: Santé et Bien-être (santé physique et mentale hyg

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