Is language a barrier of some sorts for you guys?

[Jaxan]

I have been trying to stay out of this one, but I am always thoroughly entertained by how these threads take a life of their own and meander through various topics...

To answer the original question. Personally, I need the connection that language brings. It doesn't have to be a highly intellectual conversation, but I need to be able to communicate effectively enough to fully appreciate the person across from me. That being said, some men don't even need/want to talk, and I can respect that as well.

Specifically to me, I can only speak English, and have trouble with even that at times... =p I can understand how some natives of Canada may feel it is disrespectful to be in their country and not try to know more about it. But I can only be true to myself and enjoy what I want in life, and it is not due to a lack of respect to the diverse culture and history that make up Quebec. Some people are lovers of language, history, women, etc... I personally enjoy the Québécois culture and way of life, maybe it is because it is so different from what I know. For me québécois represents kindness, warmth, and friendliness. I hope I conveyed my thoughts properly.

As for, the discussion on language and it's inference on refinement or lack thereof. It's human nature to be prejudice. I am not talking about being racist, what I mean by prejudice is to "pre judge". To judge someone based on looks, attire, 1st impression. Lets say you walk down the street, and you see another person walk by, it is human nature to categorize this person based on only what you see of this person. You don't know this person on a personal level, so you make assumptions based on characteristics and you're own personal experiences.

I kind of went of on a tangent, but my larger point is that we cannot infer refinement based on language or the history of our predecessors. How can we define "refinement" anyways? What is refine in one culture and beliefs, could be considered vulgar in another. In the same way, we cannot imply inferiority/superiority due to different dialects of the same language. Dialects are developed due to the environment in which it was adapted for and evolved due to countless unique circumstances. Whose to say one thing is better than another, it is only ones opinion.

Anyways, just my 2 cents, I hope it came across as I intended, as I meant no disrespect or insult.

 

[Halloween Mike]

Good point, it is true we always pre judge people, thats just how we are meant. Me first, everytime i see somebody i put in my head an etiquette on him/her. That dosen't stop me from talking to the person or trying to be friend or whatever, but i do it. Sometimes a guy that look like the biggest douche ever can be super friendly and a guy looking friendly can be so annoying... Depends on the people true inner self.

As for the language issue, yeah its only a matter of where your from, for exemple to me new brunswick tick accent of the acadie peninsula is something that appear at first as a weird version of french, like its coming from the old "campagne" or something, yet for them its the normal way of speaking... Dosen't mean there different than us.

And Jaxan nobody is asking foreigner/tourist to speak fluent french when visiting, its just once people establish themselves here and live here, i think its something that should be important to them... Would i go live in Germany, i would take german classes. I would never be perfectly fluent but enough to dialogue in it im sure.

As how to describe quebec... LOL, the closest thing i have in mind is you take everything that is good from USA and remove 98% of what is bad... Same type of culture, same type of people, but way less crime, way less disasters, not much people have guns at home outside a hunting rifle. We get everything the USA get too mostly(video games, music, movies)

The only negative is the weather, and still... i kinda like it PERSONALLY, to have different weather all year long. Leaving in snowland 12 months a year would bother me for sure, but leaving 12 months a year in summer would also annoy me. Im glad to get back to hockey, ski-doo, snowboard and such at the beginning of the winter, but at the end... im eager to jump in the pool and walk in tshirt... but then in august im sick of the heat and all too so well...

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

And Jaxan nobody is asking foreigner/tourist to speak fluent french when visiting,

Sorry but have to disagree on that one, it may be ok in Montreal but go to the rural towns and things change. I get the pronunciation very close and many times äll I get is "que". Even my wife at the time ( francophone ) agrees with me and she was with me during the incidents that I was being ignored. Many people in Quebec do not like English. Molson Canadian beer was brought into the market here last summer and sales were so bad that it went at a discount to get rid of it, the maple leaf on the maple leaf wieners were taken of so sales would be OK, the cigarette brand Canadian is not sold here either. Montreal is the exception for anglos, Quebec city has no English cinemas. Met an escort yesterday whose English was ok ( better than my French ) and she only speaks English when with customers and learned only at work.

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

The more I live in Montreal, the more I realise that quebecois from higher class act like frenchmen, being more polite

????? Not to be confused with people from Quebec but the French ( France ) males are known worldwide to be arrogant and rude.

 

[Halloween Mike]

Sol, i live in sherbrooke now and there maybe aint an english cinema, but they do show movies in english as well... I was shocked actually when i got to a theater in montreal to see a movie, i did not look too much at the title, i just got there and said "expendables 2 en francais svp" like i pretty much always do everywhere(sometimes titles in french are shit, for exemple i didn't said "un ticket pour Une belle jounée pour crever" , i said "die hard 5 en francais svp" so well all of this to say my reaction when the clerk telled me it was only an english theater... i was shocked but amuse at the same time, i didn't tough such things existed in quebec... To me it was always bilingual. Both our theaters in sherbrooke show the 2 versions.

And Molson Canadian sell maybe not the best, but there aint anything special about that beer. I buy it on ocasion on discount and it taste like those generic molson beers. Budweiser is always on sale along coors light, so its nearly always the cheaper, it kinda stuck in the mind of people and now its the generic commercial beers people always get. I think budweiser is probably one of the worst commercial beer, but well, it sells well... and its american, so well...

Anyway what im trying to say tourist are tourist, and usually people will not bother them when they see there tourist. Maybe peoples where just surprised, cause if you go to a small town, there aint use to hear anything else than french.

 

[Canon]

It is like taking a cab ride with a driver that does not speak your language. Just say turn here, and go straight. Even though they do not speak your language, they have heard it before and know what you want.

 

[man77777]

????? Not to be confused with people from Quebec but the French ( France ) males are known worldwide to be arrogant and rude.

Frenchman is arrogant, but not rude at all. He will open the door to let your lady enter the first, but will think to himself that she would probably be happier with him than with a North American redneck, dressed as a woodcutter... (and your lady will probably find him charming)

 

[Sol Tee Nutz]

but will think to himself that she would probably be happier with him than with a North American redneck, dressed as a woodcutter...

What cartoons do you watch to get that impression and every male I know from Alberta ( do not know any males well enough in Quebec ) opens doors for the ladies. The arrogance may make him believe that

 

[Jaxan]

I open doors for ladies, and I don't think this is unique to any given race, religion, or creed...

I even keep doors open for men who are following me or coming in the opposite direction... Does this make me gay or bi? lol =p

 

[man77777]

I was just talking about what he would think, Sol...

Btw, as we are talking about reputation, Alberta guys are not known to be sophisticated, just lucky rednecks who had the luck to find oil... (dont take it too bad, when you make generalitie about other countries, you have to be able to hear generalities about yours, Sol )

 

[Merlot]

Bonjour a tous,

It's human nature to be prejudice. I am not talking about being racist, what I mean by prejudice is to "pre judge". To judge someone based on looks, attire, 1st impression. Lets say you walk down the street, and you see another person walk by, it is human nature to categorize this person based on only what you see of this person.

Most of the time when I notice a stranger I don't find myself falling into what would be called a prejudgement or categorizing them. Having a first impression of someone is not the same as judgement in my opinion. But I agree it's a human survival instinct to relate what you see based past experiences when no other information is available, and decide how to relate to that person based on an impression as a precaution, but it's not a judgement per se.

????? Not to be confused with people from Quebec but the French ( France ) males are known worldwide to be arrogant and rude.

I don't know about the world, but in the U.S. the American impression is often partly based on stupidity. But a lot of it is about being lazy, arrogant, and ignorant. A lot of Americans enjoy going to France thoroughly, mostly those who have bothered to learn about the language and culture. A lot of others, have the same opinion as you, but in their cases it's about a number of elements like a total lack of French skills, laziness toward learning or following the local cultural etiquette, or thinking something like...hell, I'm American, they can speak English to me and bend to my ways. That's all besides the silly political stereotypes erroneously passed off as fact, often by those who want to believe it and resist listening to anything that contradicts their bias.

About this threads subject:

If anyone is going here or there outside the country they should make arrangements and otherwise prepare themselves in ways that deal with their own inadequacies. Don't have irrational expectations if you don't have the skills (such as language) to fulfill your expectations...especially if you travel many times where there is a culture and language that is not your own while also in effect refusing to develop those skills. To be blunt specifically on the subject here, stop picking escorts by how you penis reacts to photos, reviews, or whatever. Seek out ladies you can communicate with and understand if a real connection is part of what you seek. Don't put both of you into a position where there will be difficulties. If you do, it's your mistake not hers.

Good luck,

Merlot

 

[man77777]

I don't know about the world, but in the U.S. the American impression is often partly based on stupidity. But a lot of it is about being lazy, arrogant, and ignorant. A lot of Americans enjoy going to France thoroughly, mostly those who have bothered to learn about the language and culture. A lot of others, have the same opinion as you, but in their cases it's about a number of elements like a total lack of French skills, laziness toward learning or following the local cultural etiquette, or thinking something like...hell, I'm American, they can speak English to me and bend to my ways. That's all besides the silly political stereotypes erroneously passed off as fact, often by those who want to believe it and resist listening to anything that contradicts their bias.

USguys still angry about Frenchmen cause they didnt want to go to Irak. Now everybody knows that France was right. When France refuse to go to Irak, there was a big press campaign to bitch the french being in North America, thats why we can hear so many rubbishes about them in this continent. As they dont like to be wrong, they prefer critizising frenchmen about everything than making public excuses after what they say despite they were wrong about Irak and insulting to France...

 

[anon_vlad]

....... but the French ( France ) males are known worldwide to be arrogant and rude.

This is a misconception due to our cultural differences. You have to understand that arguing or even insulting is an intellectual pastime and you will be treated respectfully only if you defend yourself. If you smile sweetly or otherwise do not or cannot respond, you are regarded as an imbecile. Political correctness barely exists there and they are relentless in humiliating the stupid and/or inarticulate.

If you are thinking of service staff: You should realize that because tips are tiny and it is practically impossible to fire an employee who has been around more than a few months, waiters are not afraid to offend diners.

 

[Jaxan]

Most of the time when I notice a stranger I don't find myself falling into what would be called a prejudgement or categorizing them. Having a first impression of someone is not the same as judgement in my opinion. But I agree it's a human survival instinct to relate what you see based past experiences when no other information is available, and decide how to relate to that person based on an impression as a precaution, but it's not a judgement per se.

Merlot

Bonjour Merlot, thank you for your comments.

You're absolutely right, categorizing and judge were poorly chosen words, maybe generalization and assumption are more applicable.

Not directed at any one person, but in general though, what I have noticed on these forums, is that Americans are not held in high regard. Not that I am saying what has been said are far fetched or off based opinions. I can understand the US is not looked upon favorably in many circles, and in a lot of cases, deservedly so. But lets not group all Americans in the same boat, categorize us and prejudge us based on what country we are civilians of.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I was watching Jeopardy tonight and one of the categories was French words. It amazed me that the contestants knew the words but could not pronounce them. One of the questions was what is the French word for water and what the contestant pronounced was "you", but he was awarded a correct response although the word is "eau", and it is not pronounced "you." So on Jeopardy your French pronunciation is allowed to suck, as as long as you know what the word is.

Alex Trebek did correct his pronunciation but he still was awarded a correct response. I am sure if HM was watching the show he would have said, WTF?

 

[BBW Lover]

Alex Trebek is Canadian so he must know the correct pronunciation of "eau". Funny thing when the IBM researchers who designed "Watson" the Jeopardy software that made the news in 2011, they decided against adding a voice recognition module to Watson because it would have been very costly to train Watson to decipher Trebek's "Canadian English accent" (according to Stephen Baker author of The Final Jeopardy Book).

 

[letsrock2012]

Im just curious...you can say maybe its my imagination but i would like to know since most of you guys are english speaking as first language...
.. and sometimes i see you guys reporting a bad chemitry maybe because of the language barrier... So im just asking... could this really be a role...?

Im starting to think i should avoid english speaking girls... even tough i can hold a conversation, of course im more natural in french... i would like to know what you guys think about it and maybe know if it can be a factor why some of you have meetings below your standards(maybe because you don't speak french)

No, no, no... language is no barrier... après tout la langue peut servir à plein d'autres choses...:eyebrows:

 

[Skym]

Not for me. I know enough French to get by with someone like Elie at Euphoria, who doesn't really speak English and been seeing her for 2 years. Communication was good enough.