What are the "only in X country" things of your countries?

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<a href="/ar/translator/citl%C4%81licue" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1109697">citlālicue <div class="moderator_icon" title="Moderator" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 31.03.2012

Since my last trip to Mexico (a month ago) I've noticed a few more things that I never really thought of:

▪ When you give money to a cashier or are paying for something, they will tell you "I'm receiving x amount, your change is x amount" even at modern places like a 7 eleven. It might be an old habit to break, some of the ladies in the market don't even blink to give you exact change, they do all the math in their heads. It pisses me off that they are often looked down on because they're not educated, yet these ladies do faster math than a high school part-timer here in the US!

▪ Samples, aggressively sometimes. In markets or near restaurants you'll be approached by sellers with samples, some of them will sweet talk you and swear to you that their food is the freshest and if you can't decide, then let a sample speak for itself. Some will even show you where the meat is cut and others will display the skull of an animal to prove that the meat is 100% what they promise. However, some of them do get handsy and will try to grab your arm to get you to try a sample, be ready to be firm and say "no", these kinds will often try to "charge" you for samples even if you don't buy anything.

▪ Parking is not free anywhere, you must pay for parking wherever you go. Even on streets where there are only homes and no businesses you will have a person standing on the street and will charge you to keep an eye on your car. Never park or leave your car unattended in the city, park wherever there's parking meters or in areas where there's bound to be more activity.

▪ In the last twenty years, our currency has changed for security purposes. Don't be surprised when merchants won't take a bill or ask for a newer one. For more info on that, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_peso#Banknotes

▪ In 2018 a new series (G) was introduced, so the $500 peso looks like the $20 peso in color and the same person (Benito Juarez), if you're not careful you could end up losing money if the person giving you change is just as careless or is robbing you blind.

▪ I don't know if other countries do it (The US doesn't do it, maybe in coins but not dollar bills, those haven't changed much except for visual updates and for security purposes) but Mexico has commemorative bank notes that are like alternative versions of the regular notes except they're still current and have started circulation with series (F).

▪ To use the Metro system in Mexico, you use a refillable card (like the Oyster card in the UK or a Metrocard in NY) or pay for a ticket to get to a platform. Stations are divided into 12 lines (obviously each with their own stops) and all of them are represented by a color and logos (see example here). So even if you don't know a word of Spanish, all you have to do is remember or know the logo of your stop and you'll never get lost. If a logo is in more than one color, it means you can connect to other lines of the other colors. There's a separate car for women (and children) only at the end of the platform, men are not allowed to board it and is clearly labeled. The same goes for certain light rail buses and taxis that cater only to women.

▪ People are very polite (despite what you hear in the media or from people who have never been here), store owners will treat you like they've known you all their life and some will remember you even if you haven't seen them in a long time. There's a store owner near my house who I see a handful of times when I stay in Mexico, he knows I live in the US and always remembers me when I come over to buy from him (very sweet man). I went to the market that I hadn't been to since last year and the owner recognized us right away! he said "You're the lady from last spring, you were having a party and you bought a good amount from us. Your aunt always buys from us, she's our best customer", and now I feel bad that I don't remember his name.

Editor
<a href="/ar/translator/anerneq" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1112972">Anerneq <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 10.05.2012

Don't know why I didn't get a notification for this.
Anyway, I realise not everyone in the world is a patriotic (luckily so, I'd add), but in Italy things are little bit different. When they don't show any kind of patriotism (which is most of the time) they would whine about Italy being the worst country, while emphasising the success of other countries. If you show pride in your nation outside of specific contexts, you would be laughed off and not taken seriously. There's not even the stigma of being considered a fascist just for showing a little bit of pride.
I honestly think that's pathetic.

مشرف 🔮​🇧​​🇮​​🇩​​🇽​​🇦​​🇦​❜
<a href="/ar/translator/citl%C4%81licue" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1109697">citlālicue <div class="moderator_icon" title="Moderator" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 31.03.2012
DarkJoshua schreef:

Don't know why I didn't get a notification for this.
Anyway, I realise not everyone in the world is a patriotic (luckily so, I'd add), but in Italy things are little bit different. When they don't show any kind of patriotism (which is most of the time) they would whine about Italy being the worst country, while emphasising the success of other countries. If you show pride in your nation outside of specific contexts, you would be laughed off and not taken seriously. There's not even the stigma of being considered a fascist just for showing a little bit of pride.
I honestly think that's pathetic.

Bug maybe?

Outside of what specific context (can you give an example).

I've never tried to hide my disdain for the US and everything it stands for (even though I am an American born citizen, my parents are Mexicans and therefore I am 100% Mexican1 and I hate the blind patriotism they display here, especially those whose families served in the military and they use that as an excuse to be racist-purist-propaganda-ignorant-full of shit people who wipe their as**es with the pages of history books and spit at the people who are the living evidence that Caucasians weren't here first nor did they build this country with their own two hands, they did it by the sweat of the backs of natives and people of color.

In Mexico people are patriotic for all the wrong reasons too, but some of them (from my generation at least, some from my parents' generation) understand all of Mexico's wrongdoings and don't try to ignore Mexico's violent history, but a part of them is patriotic because Mexico isn't just a country, it's our parents and our families back home, it's something that beckons us home and that lights something deep in us at the thought of ever being permanently apart from it. I was born and raised in the US but my heart has always longed for Mexico, I am proud of her colors and comfortable reading through her centuries of history (even the bloody and unjust parts) and I sing out her anthem with pride (when the occasion for it is there), I embrace all the good and all the bad from my motherland. To become Mexican is for it to be born in your heart, you don't need to be born on its lands to love the country and people there don't give two sh*ts as long as you are genuine in your love for her.

  • 1. I mean through my parents, I have great grandparents from Spain and can trace my ancestry to the 1700's through my mother's father's mother's side of the family to a little town in the north of Spain.
Editor
<a href="/ar/translator/anerneq" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1112972">Anerneq <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 10.05.2012
phantasmagoria schreef:

Bug maybe?

Outside of what specific context (can you give an example).

I've actually just realised I had unsubscribed from the thread... I feel stupid now.
I talked about specific contexts in the comment Zarina quoted. You know, football matches, influential people (Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, etc.) and stuff like that.

I honestly don't like when people are patriotic, neither in a negative, nor in a positive way, but I'm aware this is a result of my upbringing and I'm glad I was born in a country where the nationalistic pride is not so flaunted about and always present as it is in other countries.

مشرف 🔮​🇧​​🇮​​🇩​​🇽​​🇦​​🇦​❜
<a href="/ar/translator/citl%C4%81licue" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1109697">citlālicue <div class="moderator_icon" title="Moderator" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 31.03.2012
DarkJoshua schreef:
phantasmagoria schreef:

Bug maybe?

Outside of what specific context (can you give an example).

I've actually just realised I had unsubscribed from the thread... I feel stupid now.
I talked about specific contexts in the comment Zarina quoted. You know, football matches, influential people (Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante Alighieri, etc.) and stuff like that.

I honestly don't like when people are patriotic, neither in a negative, nor in a positive way, but I'm aware this is a result of my upbringing and I'm glad I was born in a country where the nationalistic pride is not so flaunted about and always present as it is in other countries.

Ah, I see. Yeah, that bothers me too. I just hate blind patriotism and patriotism brought out by a famous figure. It's like when people say "I'm so proud to be an American, just look at x person here" and I'll look at them and say "you do know x person had slaves during that time right?" or when people fight over what nationality their favorite baseball player is from and argue that that's their reason for being patriotic.

Like Cinco de Mayo just passed right? I got into an argument with someone when I asked them "what do you think that date represents? does the Battle of Puebla ring any bells?" and their answer (I sh*t you not) was "It's just a holiday, you act like someone died, it's a party". All my friends, coworkers and family are banned from coming into my home with their ignorant BS, you leave that sh*t at my doorstep and we won't have any problems. I also hate when people shove their patriotism in your face, 4th of July? I honestly don't care, I don't want to be dragged to your BBQ parties for a country's independence day that later on had a civil war that fought over whether it should be allowed to have slaves or not and that is eager to burn my people at a cross and leave infants and children to die in detention centers in our modern day era, I don't want to have to turn the AC and TV on in my house up to MAX because you're all lighting up fireworks all night long (which is illegal in the state of NY) and you won't let me sleep to get to work early and my dog won't stop barking.

Sorry for the vent, people just get on my nerves with this and I often speak my mind.

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

Well, this conversation has taken an interesting turn 😅

But in all seriousness, I don't think being patriotic is an inherently bad thing as long as people don't take it too far. Take me for example, I'm very patriotic about my country but at the same time I'm not an obnoxious idiot who constantly shoves that down other people's throats and ignorantly acts like I live in the best country in the world, because that's obviously not true.

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<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

It's strange how nationalist pride varies between nations. I feel that too many nations now have there national pride in how some of their people can win sporting competitions (eg soccer or some other international "sporting" event) by breaking the rules of the sport so cleverly that the referees/umpires/judges don't spot it, or in how some historical characters won something for the nation despite their immoral activities. There are still perhaps some nations whose people often take national pride in things that deserve it, but I suspect there are very few. From what Ellen says, Mexico may be one of those honourable few.

Scotland, sadly, fits into this. That seems to me to be a sad new phemomenon - since when were soccer and rugger the principal sources of Scottish national pride? When I was young we were proud to be the nation of Robert Burns and Adam Smith and James Watt and John Napier and of others such as Andrew Carnegie and Colin Campbell (Lord Clyde). Why weren't the English proud to be the nation of Chaucer and Shakespeare and Newton instead of the nation of Stanley Matthews and Roger Bannister (at least those two didn't win by cheating, English pride was not as misguided way back then as it seems to be now)?

مُحرر سابق ♥
<a href="/ar/translator/azura" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1334503">Azura </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 09.04.2017

Being patriotic and flying the flag in Australia outside of Eurovision or rugby contexts can have some racist connotations (but of course, not always). Sometimes people use Australian patriotism as an excuse to be awful to immigrants and aboriginal people. So in more positive contexts, the australian flag can be flown alongside the aboriginal flag. Though as an immigrant here, I have a huge Australian flag that I got before I came here because I like flags. But they're rarely seen flown in front of houses like they are in the US because of the connotations. I don't really see being patriotic as a bad thing, you should be allowed to like the piece of land you come from, but sometimes people take it too far.

Editor
<a href="/ar/translator/anerneq" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1112972">Anerneq <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 10.05.2012

[@phantasmagoria], [@Zarina01]
I don't want to impose my standpoint on others, but this is one of those topics that I really care about.
I'm happy that Mexico doesn't have such an obnoxious sense of national pride and I agree that national pride shouldn't be taken too far. As a European, the memories of the way populist and nationalistic governments took control during WWII is still alive among those who lived it and passed down to the new generations. No one would ever dare to take their national pride that far, especially in countries like Germany where learning from your country's past has become part of the culture.
My problem with a more positive sense of national pride is a different one. I find it stupid to take pride in things you haven't done, people you have never met outside of a history book and discoveries you didn't make. I remember a friend of mine whining about some people wearing shorts with the Union Jack on them when I was in London. A symbol, such as a flag, shouldn't have such a power on people, it shouldn't dictate your actions. People shouldn't be offended by symbols (as [@swedensour] said about the Australian flag in certain contexts), because then any symbol could be used to harm others, disunite them and put one against the other.
What annoys me the most is that a positive national pride and a negative one are two sides of the same coin. Feeling pride for your country is to limit yourself to your birthland... and people make wars about birthlands. Some are taught to hate their neighbouring nation(s) just because of political conflicts that shouldn't have any effect on civilians.
People also let themselves be dictated by their identity. I struggled a lot in my life figuring out my identity and I came to the conclusion that I am the same, no matter where I was born or raised. Culture is not a determining factor in your personality, if you don't agree with the culture you were taught since you were born... and if you disagree with your culture, it means that your personality is a separate entity. The problem is for those who agree with their culture and let themselves be influenced by it. But I think people are more than their nationalities: letting yourself be determined by the country you were born and/ or raised in is not only a huge mistake, but also extremely limiting. I don't even like saying I'm Italian when I'm abroad, because I'm not Italian: I am myself and nothing else. I'm a person and human being before anything else. That's what I don't like.

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

Sure, but no person in the world can claim he/she is and thinks without any cultural background, even if somehow mixed. I know my culture is the French culture from France, that means, not from Québec, Antilles or Africa for example, and of course not the English, American or Russian one (a little bit German, though). This doesn't mean that I put French culture over other cultures, on the contrary, they interest me much, but I will never think like an American for example, simply because there are too many things an American has learned nearly from his birth, while I know only a very tiny bit of it. I think it is a big mistake to think that, because no culture should be considered as superior to another one, then all people in the world should be identical and interchangeable. Perhaps they will be, in some decades or centuries, when they will all have mixed together, and think the same things at the same time, speak the same language and sing the same songs, which would be awfully sad, but I very much doubt it : new cultures will emerge, different from the ones we know nowadays, yet separate, not to be mingled, sometimes competing with each other. Or perhaps there will be no more mankind then.

Editor
<a href="/ar/translator/anerneq" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1112972">Anerneq <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 10.05.2012
Jadis schreef:

I think it is a big mistake to think that, because no culture should be considered as superior to another one, then all people in the world should be identical and interchangeable.

Neved claimed that.
My point is that identity should have priority over culture. It's true that no one is born without any cultural background and thus everyone is influenced by their culture in a way or another, but that doesn't mean that your culture identifies who you are.
People aren't identical and interchangeable. The only thing we all have in common is that we are all different from one another and can't be limited by concepts such as culture or nationality that tie us to specific characteristic and behaviours. That's what I was trying to say.
Also I must highlight the fact that I don't claim my viewpoint to be any better than yours. Much of my mindset is a result of life experiences and therefore might not be applicable or understandable to other people.

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

I was thinking about the question of immigration, among others. It seems that many people think that there is absolutely no difference between an American, a Polish, an Asiatic or an African immigrant (for example), since they should all be equal (in rights). This is just nonsense, IMO. Of course they are different, of course the fact that they (perhaps) will get French documents will not make out of them in an instant, by some magic trick, the strict equivalent of a guy whose ancestors have been living in France for many generations. But uttering so obvious a thing is considered as nearly a crime by now... It's a kind or a religious belief, disregarding everything one might notice using their own eyes or ears... Dogmatism : not much progress in mentality since Middle Age.

Editor
<a href="/ar/translator/anerneq" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1112972">Anerneq <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 10.05.2012

Well, I was talking more about one's own perception of themselves, rather than a political status. Politics works in a different way and being granted citizenship of the country you're living in has bigger consequences than not understanding a foreign culture or taking in pride in your new nation...
I understand your point of view and I can say I can agree with it. I also don't like the way some opinions gets completely ignored or even falsely accused of whatever "bad" ideology (such as racism) just to make your point more "right"... as if right and wrong even existed.

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<a href="/ar/translator/citl%C4%81licue" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1109697">citlālicue <div class="moderator_icon" title="Moderator" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 31.03.2012

Before we get back on topic, I'd like to say that your country doesn't define you as a person nor does it define your values. Be proud of your country for all the good things, but always keep in mind all the wrongs it has committed and strive to never repeat it again. If you forget the wrongs, how are you supposed to learn not to do it or why it's wrong in the first place? Don't limit yourself to what you've been brought up to know, countries shouldn't be "enemies" with other countries nor should they hate each other's people, this isn't a soccer match. Love, if not that then respect each other and don't be offended if others don't love your country or respect it, the right things should start with yourself. Maybe that's just my own mentality, or maybe there's a lot of idiots out there who are patriotic for all the wrong reasons. In Mexico we don't celebrate our battles and wars, we honor our dead for losing their lives in their fight for their ideals.

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

Only in Costa Rica

▪ Do people get their mail delivered to them, despite the fact that no one has a street address

Only in The United States

▪Is the term "medical bankruptcy" a thing

Only in Canada

▪ Do people apologize for apologizing 🤣😂

Only in Colombia

▪ Do people dip cheese in hot chocolate

Only in El Salvador

▪ Do people actually look forward to and welcome hurricanes

Editor
<a href="/ar/translator/anerneq" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1112972">Anerneq <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 10.05.2012
Zarina01 schreef:

Only in Costa Rica

▪ Do people get their mail delivered to them, despite the fact that no one has a street address

In Finland they have everything delivered directly on their doorsteps, both in normal houses and apartments.

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

Only in Brazil

▪ Is there a "war" going on about the correct way to say the word cookie 😑

Only in New Zealand

▪ Do people eat spaghetti on toast

Only in Bolivia

▪ Do people eat coco leaves as soon as they get off an airplane, because the altitude in Bolivia is so high

Only in Portugal

▪ Is there a festival where you can hit people on the head with hammers

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

Where? Where? Where? I'm just dreaming to find a place where it's allowed to hit people on their heads with a hammer. :)
 

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

In the city of Porto on June 23rd, I have no idea what it's about, but everyone goes around hitting each other on the heads with fake plastic hammers 😁

مشرف
<a href="/ar/translator/floppylou" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1336490">Floppylou <div class="moderator_icon" title="Модератор" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 29.04.2017
Jadis schreef:

Where? Where? Where? I'm just dreaming to find a place where it's allowed to hit people on their heads with a hammer. :)
 

Zarina01 schreef:

In the city of Porto on June 23rd, I have no idea what it's about, but everyone goes around hitting each other on the heads with fake plastic hammers 😁

It's during the São João festival :) The custom is to hit everyone you meet with plastic hammers, to bring them joy and happiness during the incoming summer.

---

Zarina01 schreef:

Only in Brazil

▪ Is there a "war" going on about the correct way to say the word cookie

Meanwhile in France... we're arguing about how this pastry should be called :

https://uploads.lebonbon.fr/source/2019/january/3n63fyvefo_2_675.jpg

Southern France say "Chocolatine" (...what the heck?), "Middle"+Eastern+Western France call that "Un pain au chocolat", while where I live (Extreme north, 10km from belgian border), we call it "petit pain". There are lots of discussion about that, people are always joking on the Internet, even during our strikes and protest, and bakers themselves !

Some examples :
https://www.thelocal.fr/userdata/images/article/3f8f03bac8bde27760148cab...
https://cdn.radiofrance.fr/s3/cruiser-production/2017/10/835e4444-86db-4...
https://www.azinat.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Azinat_182_chocolatine...
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Choco.jpg/220p...
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XtV6vooBOZA/maxresdefault.jpg

Even vids !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFel7r8o5Es
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxNK5RiglcQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XwuCJ0HRoI

...and even Wikipedia mentions it :
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_au_chocolat

مُحرر سابق
<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

But surely the Extreme north is Bray-Dunes, and that's less than 3km from the Belgian border.  *devil_smile*

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you from Haute de france?

Master
<a href="/ar/translator/blacksea4ever" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1390089">BlackSea4ever </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 19.07.2018

Lol. Trump would love such a thing. He is despondent not being able to hit his opponents on their heads like a real dictator could. He loves Saudis - they did an admirable job dismembering US journalist.

مشرف
<a href="/ar/translator/floppylou" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1336490">Floppylou <div class="moderator_icon" title="Модератор" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 29.04.2017

Yes, «hauts-de-France », ex-Nord Pas de Calais :)

مشرف
<a href="/ar/translator/floppylou" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1336490">Floppylou <div class="moderator_icon" title="Модератор" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 29.04.2017

Yes that’s the “ultimate” extreme of France. But some other cities are closer to Belgium than Bray Dunes : where I live the city has been split in two by the border so you have basically the same city in France and Belgium : Comines/Komen, Wervicq/Wervik, Halluin/Menin (that even share the same main street) etc... ;)
I know some cities are in the same case near Valenciennes. But there, Belgians speak French, meanwhile near Komen they speak Flemish. :)

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<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

Yes, many cities in France are closer to Belgium than Bray Dunes, But I am sure that no city in France is further north than Bray Dunes (and no other town in France is even as far North as Bray Dunes), so that it (not some other town) is the extreme North.

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

True, there you can see polar bears walking in the streets, but usually, the temperature in the winter doens't sink lower than -40°C. "C'est le nôôôôôrd", as Michel Galabru explains in the movie "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis". :)

مشرف
<a href="/ar/translator/floppylou" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1336490">Floppylou <div class="moderator_icon" title="Модератор" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 29.04.2017

Yes I know, I wasn't trying to convince you that Bray-Dunes wasn't the city at the "ultimate extreme north" (Call them whatever you want). You know, I spent lots of time on its beaches when I was young, I do know where Bray-Dunes is and how it looks like (and to be honest : That's not quite good in comparison of other beach-city of North).

I just call my little city a "extreme north" because usually speaking about "North France" people imagine that you're talking about Paris or even cities below Paris (Orléans...). Like they didn't know that other people and lands are there, also -Normandie, Picardie, NDPC, etc... .

Like Jadis say, there's a whole joke about us living in igloos and that our weather is always rainy (which is not true, the rainiest city of manland France is Biarritz) and below -40°C to be optimistic. Ask every first french people living in the Côte d'Azur you see and they will you that for them "north" is Lyon.

I didn't want to add a scientific point by saying that I live "in extreme north", I'm not really good at English since I'm not a native, I just wanted to contextualize the area +- . Relax, man, it's a website I come to switch off, not to be a scientist.

[@Jadis] : Time to laugh a little bit : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiBUIXCKQGw :)

And with English subtitles :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Mx3HZ4_tI

مُحرر سابق
<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

I'm not surprised that South coast people think of Lyon as far North, I remember people around Arles thinking of Avignon as the far north - and friends in Menton thinking that Grenoble was distant and cold - but that was a long time ago, roughly the period 1963 to 1971, before I had a real career, and I was spending time in the far south of France (holidaying, sometimes time extended by earning a few francs doing casual jobs), and rather less time in Italy, in Jugoslavia, in Austria, and in Bavaria.

Once I had a real career my work time in France was mostly in Paris, Grenoble, or Versailles, generally meetings with other engineers and academics, and I had to learn non-southern French for that, so sometimes I spent almost as much holiday time (with my family) in what are now Grand-Est, Hauts-de-France, Normandy and Brittany as in Scotland. I once took them as far south as Annecy (almost as far South as Lyon) and we travelled home from there via the Loire district and Britanny. And we discovered in NE France (in 1973) near the German border on our way to Italy that I couldn't understand a word the rural locals said but my wife could, and they couldn't understand a word she said but had no problem at all understanding me. So then I realised that the French in France varies as much as does the English in Britain.

I didn't for a moment think you were trying to be scientific; my comment was a tease, not a serious objection to what you had said.

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

In NE France, there is a possibility that people where speaking Alsatian (a German dialect), even if they understood French. Still nowadays, sometimes in Alsace I get addressed in Alsatian, I answer in French, everybody has understood what the other one said and everybody is happy... :)
 

مُحرر سابق
<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

I'm pretty sure it wasn't Alsatian, because I do know that the only languages Ann understood other than English were New Testament Greek and classical Latin (and she was pretty hopeless in Latin, and couldn't understand any Greek written before about 70 AD or after about 300 AD). She'd done enough schoolgirl French to fail the usual basic level exam at age 16 but not fail hard enough not to be offered the chance to resit after another year's study (which she declined). She didn't know a single word of German or any of its dialects, and had never studied German. And I would have expected to recognise German dialects as German (well, at least Upper German dialects - maybe not Central German, but Alsatian is clearly Upper German - and back then I could speak two W.U.G. dialects - Swabian and Bavarian - well enough to get by and "Standard" German slightly less well). I think that it was the North Eastern French that was beyond me, rather than a German dialect. Or (horrible thought) could it be that Alsatian in France is pronounced with French langue d'oïl phonology instead of Upper Germanic phonology? Or even that I still hadn't made my head work with langue d'oïl phonology for French instead of langue d'oc so that my wifes schoolgirl French could interpret sounds that my extremely southern French couldn't?

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

Sometimes Alsatians (especially the 'rural' ones) can speak French with a very heavy accent, making it difficult to understand.
 
Sometimes Alsatian can sound like Chinese too. For ex, if you hear something like :
Shang shen tsun shu ? Yo shang tsun shen tshu lang!
 
it could mean : Johnny, is the sun up already ? - Sure Johnny, the sun is up for a long time already!
(Schang, schint d'Sunn schu ? Jo Schang, d'Sunn schint schu lang)
:)

Editor Soldier of Love
<a href="/ar/translator/flopsi" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1331196">Flopsi <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor/in" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 12.03.2017

That sounds German to me. :D :D :D

مُحرر سابق
<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

Would that be "Jean, scheint d' Sonn schon" ? - 1 French name and 4 German words? (reply: "Ja, Jean, d' Sonn scheint schon lang") with d' for der and Sonn for Sonne?
Of course, my German had deteriorated through too liitle use 20 years after 1971, but even then I still startled German colleagues by singing along with thoroughly Bavarian and Swabian folksongs in dialects that they didn't expect a Scotsman to be aware of. Ater another 27 years on, I suspect my German has degraded to something close to hopeless (through not using it much at all), but 48 years ago I would have recognised and understood Upper German dialects like Alsatian and Bavarian and Swabish.

Super Member
<a href="/ar/translator/aylo" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1374145">aylo </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 02.03.2018

"Jean, scheint d' Sonn' schon?"
= Jean, scheint die Sonne schon?

It means "Jean, is the sun already shining?"

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

Yes, "Schang" is for the French Christian name, "Jean", not the English one. I was very surprised when I discovered that Jean Seberg was a woman...

مُحرر سابق
<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

That helps me realise how much German I have lost - "die Sonne" not "der Sonne" is a big difference in a language that cares about grammatical gender. It confuses me that "sun" ( "grian") is grammatically feminine in Gaelic but I dont see it a feminine in German. THat was probably because I never thougt about German in Scottish Gaelic, as I was in English speaking schools in SE England when I learnt non-British languages,

Except for the small problem that I used odd bits of French, German, Italian, and Scots Gaelic, in a homework essay for an English primary school excercise when I was about 5 or 6 years old. When someone showed me that essay and the teacher's comments years later I was amazed, and I've no idea where I got those languages (apart from Gaelic) from.

مُحرر سابق
<a href="/ar/translator/michealt" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1222532">michealt </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.10.2014

It can be amusing in Britain too. The equivalent name in Scottish Gaelic is "Sean", which is masculine, and that name is used (as masculine) in Scottish English too.. But in Scots (and in Scottish English) we have "Jean" which is femine and generally thought of as English rather than Scots.

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

[@Floppylou] is this video an accurate representation of all the regions of your country?

مشرف
<a href="/ar/translator/floppylou" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1336490">Floppylou <div class="moderator_icon" title="Модератор" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 29.04.2017

[@Zarina01]

Zarina01 schreef:

Hey [@Floppylou], is this video an accurate representation of all the regions of your country?

I had troubles reading your video but I finally make it ! :D
By the way, Doc7 is a good french (Guyane) youtuber. He's very interesting, but he talks very fast, even for me.

2:10 > The movent against De Gaulle in 60's was more or less the same in the whole country in fact, but it's true Lyon was the most belligerent city from mainland (Remember that until 1960, France still had a whole part of Africa as a colony : Algeria (until 1962), Central African Republic, Gabon, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Djibouti, Comores ...).

3:04 > Churches and monastries are very commun in all France. There are lots of them in the South (Vaucluse), because it used to be a Pope's land -that's why Avignon is called "La Cité des Papes" ("City of the Popes"), in Bretagne-Normandie (Le mont Saint-Michel... what a beauty), and in Nord since it was part of the Spanish crown until Louis XIV.

3:30 > Breton isn't only spoken by the elders. In fact, since 20-30 years, Bretons are willing to make their language spoken in the whole region. In France, the official language is Français. It means that you can't ask a public officer to speak your language or to give you papers not written in French, and you can't ask to pass diplomas (such as the Baccalauréat) in another language than French. It includes technically roadsigns. But since in Alsace, roadsigns are Alsacien, in Corse in Corsican, in Flandres in Flemish, Breton do it as well. And since 5-6 years, students passing their Baccalauréat may pass it in... Breton ! Every year it's a whole drama because "If even french people don't speak french what is the future of the country" bla-bla-bla. I find it very nice : We have tons of dialects, accents and even language (Basque) but we have to "shut up" because the government thinks only French (and good french ! Not the one my grandparents used to mumble) is acceptable...

5:41 > Ah... Corsicans. Difficult subject indeed. It's true they wish to have their independance, but only like 10-15% of the population of the island wish it. In fact, the true problem is the survivance of the island if they do leave France : Yeah, tourism is a great industry but... I personnally think that's not what a country is based on.

6:36 > Reims is also the city where Kings used to be crowned since Clovis. And it has a magnificient cathedral, and a beautiful old town. (OK My bad, he said that right after I've written this)

6:48 > Home sweet home. It's true you can see the English coast from Cap Gris Nez or Cap Blanc Nez, even from Dunkerque but it's only like 10-15 days during summer, cause you know we have lots of haze and rain so... It's not always visible. And ch'ti (picard) isn't just "some words spoken differently" : It had its own conjugation, vocabulary and expressions but since France decreted that only French could be spoken in here, people just loose their dialects. I remember my grandparents speaking and I assure you : If you didn't belong here, no way you could have understood a word ! It wasn't just french spoken strangely, it was a mix from Flemish, French, German words, but it has lost its roots since +-80-100 years. Now people are seeing us as dumb people who don't know how to articulate and drunk all day long... I mean we don't drink that much : We drink lots of beer (Belgian !) since we have thousands of monastries make their own beer and cheese so yes, the "beer section" of our supermarket might be a little longer than others... ;)

8:00 > "Tous les gens qui ne viennent pas de là-bas aiment critiquer cet endroit" : That's SO true. I mean Paris is hell on Earth for me. I've miles of fields right at my window, horses are in my own garden, people and places are quiet... Paris ? Lots of people, lots of tourists, robbing/pickpocketing, smelly metro, strange people, everyone looking depressed or pissed off, traffic jam, the "périphérique", ... Hell no, no way I could live there, even for its beautiful buildings !

9:11 > Don't ever say that the Mont-Saint-Michel is norman to a Breton, and breton to a Norman... You might get in trouble ! (But technically, it's Norman :p )

10:05 > Basques are like the Corsican of mainland France... Own language, own idea of how a country should be run, wants their independance, yes : 100% accurate !

10:52 > Also, Occitanie is the region that suffer the most from the "Heretic hunt" Cathareism vs Christianity. That's from where the "Occitan Cross" do actually comes from. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharism)

12:14 > Old immigration is not only in South France. I mean, in the Nord, because of our old industries, lots of north-African people (like Polish, Italians in 1900_1920's) immigrated in North and in Paris. It's not only in the South. Due to its colonizater past, lots of people immigrated in mainland France because they felt French.

13:30 > Yup that's true. Lots of people are going to Guadeloupe or Martinique for their holidays. Plus : Plane tickets are for nothing with our national Air France company (Like : Charles-de-Gaulles > Hawai : 1200€ for the plane only, CDG>Fort de France : 300... And they use euros like mainland, even if the cost of life is way higher).

It's a nice introduction to french regions, I didn't know this YT channel. Thyank you !

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

I thought it was quite interesting and rather accurate, as far as one can present France in 17 minutes (BTW, the right URL is : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGktIj8PJRg). I would add two remarks :

- the present, new administrative regions apparently came out of the tortured brains of Parisian technocrats, only for economical and managerial purposes, for the most of them they correspond to nothing, historically and culturally. For example there's no such thing as "Grand Est", except for the administration ; there is a region called Alsace, another one called Lorraine, and a third one called Champagne, each of them with a strong individuality. Oh , and I nearly forgot Ardennes, which is not really a region (but has its own individuality too!), already earlier then didn't really know what to do with it so they merged it with Champagne. Now the poor Ardennes completely disappeared inside that horrible "Grand Est" melting pot. As to "Bourgogne - Franche-Comté", historically there was a Duché de Bourgogne and a Comté de Bourgogne, they were clearly separated : now this new "region" stretches from the Swiss Border all the way to... 100 km from Paris ! (around the city of Sens). This is pure nonsense.

- the video evokes a little the immigration, but rather casually. Actually, there are plenty of problems with African and North-African uncontrolled immigration (although it's somehow forbidden to talk about it), and not only in Paris or Marseilles, but everywhere, in every city of France. The African black population, for example, is increasing rapidly for different reasons. Nearly all the tourists from Eastern xxxxxx Europe I know who went visiting France (especially, but not only, Paris) were rather stunned to discover the reality of today's France. There are whole city areas and suburbs where you would hardly meet white people (and even less original French people). Usually foreigners are not reallly prepared to that reality, they keep in mind romantic images of Paris, the Loire River and the Côte d'Azur, and of the Bretons or Alsatians in their folkloric clothes. Sorry to disappoint you, dear visitors, but that's a view belonging to the past...

I also noticed that "Tony", who says he was born in Nice if I'm not mistaken... speaks like a perfect Parisian guy ! Not the faintest Southern accent in his speech...

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

He also did an entire video on the geography of france https://youtu.be/g0QrBphsioM
just a heads up, he did get some information incorrect and some historical facts wrong, but for the most part I think he did a (mostly) good job explaining France to those of us who aren't from there

مشرف
<a href="/ar/translator/radixice" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1179431">RadixIce <div class="moderator_icon" title="مشرف" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 21.06.2013

It is avalanche that this thread is still up-to-date lol.

Editor Soldier of Love
<a href="/ar/translator/flopsi" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1331196">Flopsi <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor/in" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 12.03.2017

I love this thread!

Guru
<a href="/ar/translator/zarina01" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1295512">Zarina01 </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 13.06.2016

[@Flopsi] He did a video on your country too!

Editor Soldier of Love
<a href="/ar/translator/flopsi" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1331196">Flopsi <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor/in" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 12.03.2017

Zarina, this was so cool. I even learned new stuff - just one thing's wrong: Sauerbraten is made out of beef not pork.
Thank you so much!

Editor - Россияне домой!
<a href="/ar/translator/freigeist" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1249237">Freigeist <div class="editor_icon" title="Redaktor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.06.2015

There are a few things more, that are inaccurate:
Rouladen is beef not pork, and there was no regular passenger rail traffic between West-Germany and West Berlin, as far as I know.
When he said "train" he should have said "plane".
Attn. students of the German language: most written words in the video are misspelled.
;)

Expert
<a href="/ar/translator/jadis" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1387945">Jadis </a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 01.07.2018

And mispronounced.

Editor Soldier of Love
<a href="/ar/translator/flopsi" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1331196">Flopsi <div class="editor_icon" title="Editor/in" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 12.03.2017

Oh, come on Hansi. His misspelling is sooo funny. I love the way he says Zugspitze.
And you can make Rouladen also from pork though the "real" ones are made of beef.

Editor - Россияне домой!
<a href="/ar/translator/freigeist" class="userpopupinfo" rel="user1249237">Freigeist <div class="editor_icon" title="Redaktor" ></div></a>
تاريخ الانضمام: 11.06.2015

Of pork ??
Try to explain the German false rabbit then ...
:D

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