Bonjour,

   On remarque ici une vive différence entre les deux points de vue.Vous avez l'air de voir l'autorité comme un contrôle, une manipulation, une entité qui a tous les pouvoirs sur vous contrairement à nous qui voyons cela comme la garantie d'un certain ordre.

qu'en pensez-vous?

Hi,

In our answers the word definitely have more negative meaning. Such words as "revolt", "annoying", "bureocracy", "personal interest", "harsh" appear more often.

I think, though, that it has a dual meaning. Having authority is to be able to change something, have a say (which does not come free, but rather earned or recognized), have knowledge to do something, versus being controlled and lead.

So it's not as much about maintaining a certain order, but rather being able to change the present order.

Hi,

In both answers, "power" appears most frequently. Authority, in my understanding, is the power to make decisions for the people in unity. For Americans, since people come from very different cultures, this unity must sacrifice some people's rights. That's why we think it to be "controlling", "harsh", and "annoying". For French, there is one culture. Authority is more related to responsibility, respect, benefit, and even justice.

My question is, what's the difference between gendarmerie and police? And why would you relate these to authority?

Hi,

My question is that why "government" never appears in the ENSAM students' answers? On the contrary it appears quite a few times in MIT students' answers. Do French not relate government to authority?

Bonjour,

(anna) les Américaisn plus négatifs? En cours on a conclu le contraire justement ! Je pense que de chaque coté on maitrise moins les nuances, le coté négatif de l'utilisation d'un mot. Sur ce mot, je pense que on l'associe forcement un peu à du négatif mais regardez les autres mots ; les francais sont les plus critiques/raleurs non?

(bryan)  Bien sur que le gouvernement est une figure d'autorité ! Mais la seule explication que je peux proposer pour justifier son absence c'est que dans notre situation, c'est d'abord à un boss, un parent ou à l'école qu'on pense.

(ye) tu as peut etre raison, néanmoins, je ne pense qu'aucun pays n'ai qu'une culture ! Les débats actuels en france (sur l'identité nationale) montrent que...pas tant que ca. Pour info la gendarmerie fait partie de "l'armée" et s'occupe surtout des zones périurbaines et rurales. La police est liée à la ville ( ce qui ne veut pas dire que chaque ville à une police propre)

I've noticed that it is very common in American for each town and city to have it's own police force.  Even very small rural towns will have a sheriff or some sort of police.  In Canada, we have the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (aka RCMP).  They seem to closely resemble the gendarmerie.  They primarily deal with rural and suburban areas, but are also a national force (kind of like the FBI).  However, they also deal with matters of national security and work closely with the Canadian Forces.

I've noticed that it is very common in American for each town and city to have it's own police force.  Even very small rural towns will have a sheriff or some sort of police.  In Canada, we have the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (aka RCMP).  They seem to closely resemble the gendarmerie.  They primarily deal with rural and suburban areas, but are also a national force (kind of like the FBI).  However, they also deal with matters of national security and work closely with the Canadian Forces.