French : Spoken and Body Language

Before you start any French Language Course….

In the haste of learning to speak french, or any language for that matter, very often we forget
the significance of Body Language and how it compliments the spoken French
words in a country’s native tongue. Body Language is said to be the
most effective and significant way with which people communicate.

Body Language expresses underlying emotions and intent, and is
often very hard to mask. In Stephen Covey’s book,  Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People,  he illustrated that
communication comprises of 55% Non-verbal gestures, 38% Tonality
and 7% Words. That’s why you can watch a mime performs and
still be able to get the gist of the emotions that were being conveyed.

French Norms

French body-language can be seen in their daily activities.  For example;

# When enjoying a delicious meal, a Frenchman will put both hands on the table.

# When he counts he starts with his thumb instead of his index finger. (Some of us may be familiar with the very-bloody bar shootout scene in the movie “Inglorious Basterds”, when an inflitration plan was exposed after one of the Gestapo, Major Dieter Hellstrom,  noticed Lieutenant Archie Hicox’s - an imposter posing as a  Nazi general – strange accent and that he signalled the unusual non-German three-fingered order for beer  instead of using the two fingers and the thumb. This then resulted in a gunfight and a standoff with a German officer. Let’s just hope the French are more forgiving..hehe).

# When expressing affection, they will hug the other person with a complete hug.

Non-verbal Communication

• Eye Contact: In France, deliberate and direct eye contact should be used sparingly with strangers. Otherwise it will be interpreted as a request for relationship. So don’t look directly  into a stranger’s eyes in a restaurant or a mall. For strangers, quick eye contact would be more appropriate instead.

• Handshake: Similar to many cultures around the world, the French shake hands when meeting someone for the first time, especially in a business setting. They do it again when departing and when leaving a room, and it would be considered impolite not to do so. The handshake is quick and light –  no pumping up and down or bone-crunching grips.

Gestures

• Cheek-DoubleKiss: This widely known European gesture is normal between close friends and family who are meeting or departing. One will start with the right cheek and then the left.

• The Pout: This is a classic facial gesture which shows disgust, or discontent. Better known  as faire la moue, a person will push out their lips and then back to normal, just like puckering up for a kiss. A prosaic or indifferent appearance on the face usually accompany this gesture.

• Shut Up! : In France, to tell someone to keep quiet you can use a gesture instead. Raise out/up hand in the shape of a C and then place your fingers and thumb together. We call this Ferme-la!

• French Palate..Yummy!: When expressing how tasty a meal is the French will put their fingers and thumb together, kiss the finger tips and then open the same hand. This is a common expression without the need to even speak french.

• “OK” or “Nothing” ?: Making a circle with your thumb and  index finger – This gesture immediately translates to the word “Okay” in American culture, but translates to the word “nothing”  in France. So be careful here.

So yes, adjusting body language to suit the context or culture is a necessary step in addition to learning the language. But do not be discouraged, as you will see that once you overcome the early inertia, you will find yourself enjoying the process. In most instances, the locals in any country - after the initial amusement at your attempt – will feel flattered that you are putting in the effort to learn their language. So be open to learning, be receptive to help when offered by the locals, and be honest that you are new to the language but keen to learn from them. You will probably find yourself being invited for drinks, as the locals may be just as curious about where you come from and your culture as much as you wish to learn of theirs!

If you can see the significance of both spoken and body language as a package, then I would say you are READY to take on the exciting challenge of embracing the beautiful French language.

To help you get started, click over to the right of this page to get your copy of the 58-page report that will compliment your journey of learning a new language.

You may be Ready, but do you have the time?

• BUT, the brutal truth is most people do not have the time to attend classroom French lessons.

• They want to learn to Speak French because they HAVE to.

•  And wouldn’t want to spend too much for a  solution.

I know that for some of you, you probably prefer to hit the ground running and start learning how to speak French quickly so that you can start figuring your way around in your next vacation, your upcoming exchange Program, chatting with that French girl/guy you just met, etc. I hear you my friend. Then you will need to ….

Learn How to Speak French Phrases

The ability to speak French phrases or common questions is lifesaver if you are a tourist, an exchange student trying to get around campus and town, getting from the airport to the taxi stand, ordering a meal from a cheap cafe without the aid of a menu.

Trust me, you cannot do that NATURALLY by mere word-for-word translation. Laughter most likely will follow (not yours), followed by a dented ego. The problem with classroom lessons is you don’t get access to the instructor when the course is over. For the price you paid for the classroom-course, you could have bought a whole CD-System or online course that is accessible for a life time.

Speaking of online course, there is no other online course which we (and our members) hold in higher regards than Rocketfrench.

Check them out for yourself… Click Here!

All The Best!