Now the Olympics begin in Paris 2024.
According to figures from Forbes more than 11.5 million visitors are expected to flock to the capital to experience the folk festival.
Although France, and Paris in particular, is one of the most popular summer destinations every year – Olympics or not – many tourists make the same repeated mistakes: the French and language expert reveals Elisabeth Guenette in a video on Tiktok.
“If you go to France and you don’t start all your interactions with this particular word, you could be in for a very rude awakening,” says Guenette.
The simple trick to success
The word in question is as simple as the French greeting phrase “Bonjour”, or “hello” translated into Swedish.
Knowing how to say hello in a language may seem like a no-brainer, but Guenette says it’s more powerful than you might think.
– Many people believe the stereotype that the French, and especially Parisians, are rude, but you will have a much easier time here if you learn the basics of politeness – like greeting correctly!
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Synonyms are not sufficient
But there are more language rules to follow for a maximum enjoyable holiday. In another video, Guenette goes on to explain how the greeting phrases “Bonjour” and “Salut” are not interchangeable, for example.
– Salut is a very informal greeting phrase, and translated it can be closely imitated as “well” [engelskans “hey”]Guenette describes.
Although many of the world’s language norms have come to be loosened – with the example that the English “hi” is now considered acceptable to say to bosses or elders – Guenette believes that France continues to be strict in its standards of politeness, and that a person who turns to the more informal formulations risks being perceived as highly impolite.
Locals: “It’s rule number 1”
The French seem to agree.
In another video titled “How to best ask for help politely in French” describes the friend duo ATfrenchies that a greeting phrase is always necessary before a question. Although a simple “excuse me” may be an acceptable way to get someone’s attention in Sweden, in France it would be considered too abrupt and rude, according to ATfrenchies.
– Starting with “bonjour” will positively change your experiences – it’s rude otherwise actually. That’s rule number 1, comments Guenette.
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