Every culture and every behaviour from a country to another are different. Is there a better way to behave? One culture can be weirdest than another? Or funniest? Can two cultures be mixed to form the perfect one? The answer to these questions is obviously no. Sometimes people have a lot of prejudices about those who are not like them. Being different isn’t bad. On the contrary, it is better.
If you visit a country, you may find some funny side of their culture but also some interesting, disturbing and similar sides.
Great Britain and France are countries quite close to each other. Both have the occidental culture but some social behaviours are not similar.
The first thing that British people notice when they arrive in France is the “bise”. The famous “bise”. Indeed, it is famous because few countries do it. It is almost an aggression or an inappropriate gesture whereas in France it is something normal. A British person who just arrived in France never knows when he must do it and how many. It is very simple: it is done to say hello, to say goodbye, in some regions people give three kisses, and in some even four, some people start to kiss the right cheek and others the left one; there is nothing easier. French people do the “bise” to almost everyone. It is impossible to know how many kisses French people give every day. If a French person visits a friend and this friend is with several persons that he does not know: BISE for everyone. If a French person meet for the first time his or her girlfriend or boyfriend’s family: BISE for everyone. If a French person walk around with his or her mother and she meets a work colleague: BISE. Yes, French people even kiss strangers. The rare moments where they shake hands which are at job interview and they are in formal settings.
So, French people have this question in mind: How do British people say hello?
Saying that British people always hug everyone is a cliché. It is true that the hug in Britain is not as common as the “bise” in France but for a French person hugging someone is very intimate. YES, you read it right! French people are fine with approaching their cheeks to someone they do not know but giving a daily hug to their friends is not. A British person is going to hug his/her friends that he/her has not seen for a couple of days. A French person is going to hug someone if he has not see the person for one month for example and the person hugged must be a relative. British people prefer waving: HEY. They create some distance, but it does not mean that they are distant. If a British person meets several friends of his/her friend: HEY. When a British person is at work and he sees his colleagues: HEY. If a British person is with his mother and she meets a work colleague, the British person is going to shake his/her hand.
Of course, what is written below is not true for everyone. Everyone is different, and everyone has a different behaviour in every situation.
British people do not want to disturb or embarrass others. Kissing someone is something they are uncomfortable with. They are uncomfortable with the fact of being close to someone.
British people are more friendly than French people. French people are also friendly but not in the same way. For example, British people smile more to stranger. Saying “Hey” with your hand is not a bad thing, or it does not create a distance with the person in front of you if it is done with a big smile. Hugs are also the proof that they show more their feeling to people they know than French people.
Paul Taylor is a British humorist who lives in France. In this video, he shows perfectly how uncomfortable British people can get with the way French people say hello. He explains that when he meets someone new, he does not know if he has to shake his hand, to give one kiss, two, three or four kisses… There is even a website created to help people who do not know how to proceed in each region of France. As a man, the first time Paul Taylor had to kiss another man was very strange for him. This video illustrates perfectly the way foreigners feels when they come to France. Paul Taylor explains in 4 minutes every aspect of the “bise”. He also illustrates the need of British’s personal space.
As a conclusion, Britain and France are different in the way people say “hello” but it is not the only things that surprise British and French. Indeed, in Britain, no one will ever cut in line like in France. Eating times and shops’ opening time also differ. In Britain people eat and shops open earlier than in France. French people are known for often complaining or at least more than in Britain where people don’t want to annoy anyone. It is also obvious that they have different culinary habits. These are the main things that someone has to know before visiting one of these countries not to feel disoriented.
Lou Ravaud
It has always been a common topic the behaviours in each country, and it is still quite interesting because it will always implicates us in what we read, because it always happens that when we go abroad, we sometimes feel unconfortable for not knowing how to do some things and tend to act like in out own country, which lead us sometimes to misunderstandings, even between France and the UK, whice are very close geographically but still have so much differences. Nice entry!
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you. Even if two countries are very close, they could have many differences. Thank you for your answer Othman!
DeleteI can relate to this article as a french person haha! We can see that in the UK, people have usually a strong negative politeness. As you said, they prefer to wave their hand than "touching" the person. It is interesting to talk about the culture differences because sometimes, you do not know how to behave when you are in a foreign country.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting my entry. As a french person, you can understand well the situation i exposed and maybe you have already experienced one!
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