The most commonly repeated word was "green." It is what we consider
the color of American money...even though most of it is not really
green.

What does everyone (American and French) think of this association of
money with color? Green is also traditionally associated with envy and
jealousy...do you think that makes a difference in how people perceive
money?

Is there a color or image that French money is associated with?

Hi Y.D.
C'est assez drôle que tu poses cette question, c'est un sujet dont j'ai
entendu parler récemment !

Il se trouve que quand notre monnaie était encore le Franc, il y avait un
personnage symbolique de l'argent parce qu'il figurait sur les billets de
500 francs (les plus gros!). Il s'agissait de Blaise Pascal (je vous laisse
découvrir de qui il s'agit), on disait alors par exemple "quelques pascals
en poches ça me ferait du bien ;p".
Aujourd'hui, les francs n'existent plus, les euros les ont remplacé.
Comme ce changement est très récent, et que sur la majorité des
billets français figurent des monuments, nous n'avons plus aucune
référence de ce style...!

Qu'en pensez-vous les autres Frenchies ?

Green & jealousy ?!
En France on dit que le vert c'est la couleur de l'espoir lol MDR

Also, in response to your post about green, B.B.,
I think white (maybe blue too) is associated with hope in the US.
Green can be associated with nature, but definitely "green with envy" is a well-known
phrase.
What do other Brown students think?

What I found most striking about the word associations with "money" was our tendency
to express the materialistic presence of money, its physicality. Also, we seemed not to
associate it with "travail" nearly as much as the French students did - they
mentioned "travail" 7 times, while we listed "work" only twice, and "job" once. What does
this mean? Is it fair to make the assumption that money as a result of hard work is a less
prevalent concept in the US? Do our responses reflect a social conscience of inequality?
Do French students associate the idea of money as a result of hard work with the US as
much as they do with France?

I agree with M in the sense that the American students are
once again showing their materialistic side. The French students are
more thinking of the ways to achieve instead of the physical
properties of money. It is quite ironic because the Americans use
words like, "necessary, shopping, good life, spend, valuable," etc.,
but rarely can you find a word on how one obtains this money that
is "necessary," and "valuable," and can be spent. How do you
expect to go shopping without working to obtain that money in the
first place? The word job and and work show up only three times
while the words lottery and reward also show up. Almost all of the
French students, however, put down, "travail."
Do Americans associate working with earning money as much as
they associate the dream of winning the lottery or receiving a cash
reward with earning money? Are the Americains looking for
a "lucky" break and are they hoping they don't have to work for
their money? The French seem like they don't even consider
winning the lottery as an option to supporting themselves in life. Are
the French students instilled with this work ethic as children? Why
are the Americans looking for a way out?

Hello all!
I think we need to be careful when comparing how we (Brown students in this class) and
the french students of INT in their class responded to these words. We need to take into
considerations the backgrounds of the students responding. I don't know the
backgrounds of any of the students, but I believe we can assume that the majority of the
Brown students are priviledged and this may have affected their responses, especially
with words like money. The students from INT could be all priviledged, none priviledged,
or some mix. The fact that INT students associated money with work more than their
American counterparts, could mean a variety of things depending on the socio-economic
make-up of the classes (and other characterisitcs).

However, this is a tricky subject to bring up (at least in the US - I'm not sure how
sensitive people in France are to this subject). We should address it with care or at least
realize that we don't have all the information necessary to make statements about
how "the Americans" or "the French" conceptualize money.

Bonjour à tous,
Voici l'avis French side sur ce sujet ;)
Je suis d'accord avec E sur le fait que les réponses (en général et ici
concernant l'argent en particulier) dépendent beaucoup des origines
socio économiques de chacun.

Pourtant il semble très probable que ce soit représentatif au moins
pour les français. Nous n'avons pas l'equivalent de votre "reve
american", il y a très peu d'exemples de fortune rapidement amassée
comme par exemple à l'époque de votre "Ruee vers l'or". Alors oui,
pour nous le principal moyen de gagner de l'argent est de travailler :)

C'est assez intéressant d'ailleurs de voir qu'en francais on emploie le
mot "gagner" autant pour gagner de l'argent en travaillant
(votre "earn"), que pour gagner à un jeu-concours (votre "win") !
Qu'en pensez-vous ?

With regards to money, "to win" can be used with things like lotteries and contests: as
in "I won a million dollars in the lottery!"
When you have to work to get the money, however, you aren't really winning it...you're
not getting it for free, so you "earn" the money.
"earn" has the connotation that you have done something to deserve the money. If
you "win" something, you are just lucky.
Does "gagner" have a similar connotation to "earn" or "win" in French beyond the
dictionary definition?

Posted by B.B.on Thursday, October 21, 2004 5:33am
"Gagner" de l'argent :
Gagner peut être utilisé pour "gagner sa vie" (travailler, recevoir un salaire) ou
pour "gagner à la lotterie", il n'y a pas de distinction en français il me semble.

I agree with E.G.
Il faut noter que l'INT est composé de deux écoles, une d'ingénieurs (assez commune
dans sa représentativité je pense) et l'autre de management. Or justement c'est la seule
grande école de commerce publique en France, donc contrairement aux autres écoles qui
coutent 30KF à 50KF par an, on ne paie que 6000FF (environ 1000euros ou dollars), et il
est clair que beaucoup d'étudiants viennent dans cette école parce que c'est la moins
chère, donc logiquement parce qu'ils ne viennent pas tous des classes sociales les plus
élevées... ce qui peut influencer les réponses et qui mérite d'être pris en compte

Je ne suis pas sûr que TOUS les Français associent argent et travail... Je ne crois pas que
nous soyons à ce sujet très représentatifs des Français en général. En effet, il ne fait pas
bon être riche en France, même en travaillant.. Des relents de culture catholique
certainement qui nous font avoir honte de ce que nous gagnons (on dit rarement
combien on gagne en France, c'est assez tabou...).

In message 197 on Thursday, October 21, 2004 5:23am, B.B. writes:
Des relents de culture catholique
>certainement qui nous font avoir honte de ce que nous gagnons (on dit rarement
>combien on gagne en France, c'est assez tabou...).
bonjour tout le monde,
je suis tout à fait d'accord avec toi benoit.je pense que si les francais associent argent et
travail c'est surtout à cause de leur culture: ils sont imprégnés de cette idéologie qui dit
qu'on ne gagne de l'argent qu'en travaillant mais en réalité qui de nous ne rêve pas de
gagner le gros lot???
voili voilou à plus.

It's interesting that L. and B. mention shame in relation to money.
I think that socially there is a similar phenomenon in the US: it's usually considered
vulgar to show off your money- like wearing a lot of big gold jewelry.
There are certain standards of using money, but I think it changes depending on what
socio-economic class you are from.
I've noticed that here at Brown, it is usually impossible to tell who has money unless you
know them well because wealthier students don't like to act "rich."
Historically, there is also the idea of "old money" versus "new money." In the past
(1800s?), those who earned their money through work were "new money" and vulgar
because they didn't inherit their money.
I think the reverse may now be true...people who are born rich..."with a silver spoon in
their mouths" are frowned upon if they do nothing.

Is there a similar concept in French?

Yafang, You bring up an interesting point about old and new money. I also think things
have changed, shifting away from the work ethic that used to be emphasized. The desire
to get rich quick is everywhere in america. American TV is filled with shows that center
around contests. People will do anything (and eat) on these shows to make money. With
things like fast food and walmarts, the many americans are used to getting what they want
quickly and I'm inclined to think that our attitudes towards consumerism are relflected in
our attitudes towards money