Please respond to messages without changing the subject heading. Thanks.
Répondez aux messages sans changer le titre du message. Merci

I noticed that the responses of the French students seemed to often name specific family members, either by their actual names, or by listing things such as "maman," "parents," "soeur." On the other hand, the Brown students tended more towards general or conceptual ideas, like "home." I wonder why this is?

Several French students associated family as being "proche" or "loin" (whereas Brown students tended to mention simply "home".) Is this because there are many international students at the school in France?

Il est vrai qu'à Télécom il y a un certain nombre d'étudiants étrangers, c'est pour ça que famille évoque "loin". Mais même certains élèves français peuvent se sentir loin de chez eux puisque nous avons été recrutés sur concours et nous venons donc des quatre coins de la France, et même des DOM TOM. De nombreux élèves ne rentrent chez eux que très rarement. Mais ça doit etre pareil du côté américain, non?

Yes I guess it is also the case for most students here. The majority come from other states outside of Rhode Island, and there are also international students (although not such a large proportion as your school.)
I guess I tend not to think of my family as being very far away because, while it takes me maybe 4 hours to get home, I am able to take public transportation (and they also call me very often on the phone, so they are never too far away!)

Oui,c'est bien ça.
Je suis a étudiant chinois qui a fait deux ans de classe préparatoire en France,et je connais qu'il a des élèves qui vient de Maroc

I found it interesting that the word love appeared more often on the Brown side than "amour" did on the French side. Does the meaning of the French word "amour" have more of a romantice connotation than a familial one?

The American response: family..."tree" is another linguistic reaction, a phrase, of which the French students may not be aware.

Also, it was interesting that both American and French responses took a personal meaning to Family from naming roles such as mother, sister, cousine, grand-parents, etc to names of individuals such as bethy, philipine, etc.

Family is an interesting cultural unit because it is so personal. Americans state comfort, support, strength and likewise the French state assurance, securite. They both express the family as a safety-net institution.

>Does the meaning of the French word "amour" have more of a romantice connotation than a familial one?
C'est tout à fait exact.

J'ai également été surprise que le mot "love" apparaisse si souvent côté américain!

Je pense que "amour" en français est plus employé pour désigner une relation de couple...

Est-ce que Love est synonyme de Warm aux USA lorsque l'on parle de la famille ?
En Français, Amour est plutôt réservé aux relations amoureuses...

Love has become a very multi-functional word in the US. It is used for almost all types of relationships (with family and friends, as well as romance) but in each case I think there are different implied levels of meaning. In the case of family, I think it is natural for American students to instantly associate family and 'love' because it is a very idealistic almost stereotypic notion in our culture.

I think there is one aspect of the word "family" that is missing in both associations. For myself, and a couple of my friends, the word "family" is sometimes used to describe a small niche of friends or a close group of people who you hang out with. I find this usage of the word family has been prevalent in college, especially amongst student groups who have spent much time on campus together. This is just a general question for both Brown and ENST students. Have any of you identified this association, and moreover, used the word "family" in this context? For the ENST students, have any of you found yourselves associating your "family" with people who you are not biologically related to?

Personnellement, je n'associe pas le mot "famille" à un groupe d'amis. Il est vrai que cette association est possible mais ce mot garde, pour moi, sa propre définition.

Le premier sens de famille est restreint à la famille biologique avec laquelle je vis (Parents, frères et soeurs). Lors de la réalisation du test, c'est donc la première chose qui m'est venue à l'esprit. Après, j'ai étendu au reste de mes relations biologiques (proches).

Mais, il m'est aussi souvent arrivé de parler d'un autre groupe comme d'une "seconde famille" parce qu'on a quelque chose d'important en commun, parce qu'on a partagé une grande/importante période de notre vie etc... Toutefois, on note déjà le qualificatif "seconde".

C'est ce qui expliquerait cet aspect oublié dans l'association des mots.

Does one have a "seconde famille" their whole lives or is it primarily for younger people and students? Do your parents, for example, still associate with a "seconde famille"? If yes, are their relationships similar to yours? And if no, when did they stop having a second family?

The idea of having a second family that is not biological is a strange one for me. Instead, I will have a hierarchy of friends that goes as follows lifelong friends, general friends, family friends/friends of friends/work friends, and acquaintances.

J'ai demandé à mes parents ce qu'ils pensaient du concept de "seconde famille". Ils m'ont demandé : " tu veux dire : un groupe auquel tu t'associes parce que tu te sens proche? ou la famille de ton mari/ta femme ?"

Parlant du "groupe", mon père me dit: "être à l'université en campus faisait de l'école ma nouvelle famille. Une famille plus distante une fois que j'ai terminé mes études. On voit plus rarement ses camarades de classes etc... mais il reste un certain sentiment d'appartenance puisque cela a fait partie intégrante de ma vie."

Ma mère a dit : "en arrivant en France alors que je n'avais plus rien, ceux qui m'ont accueilli, m'ont aidé, se sont occupés de moi, constitue ma deuxième famille."

Je suis d'accord avec Bryan, je trouve qu'utiliser le mot family pour autre chose que la famille c'es un peu insulter la famille car on n'a jamais le même lien avec des amis qu'avec la famille. En plus les amis sont les amis et c'est un lien très fort, pour les américains peut-être que le mot ami est un peu dévalorisé.

Je suis egalement d accord avec Bryan. Venant de moi, pas de souci, mais qu Antonio soit d accord, la, je trouve ca louche!

While one way of looking at the alternative usage of the word family is as an insult, I prefer thinking of it as the highest compliment to that group of people that constitute your second family. It's not literally saying that your relationship with them is exactly like that one has with his/her family, but it's picking up on the some defining characteristics of the familial relationship like closeness.

Furthermore, I do not think that just because we sometimes consider our friends "like family", the word friend itself is devalued.