I think it's interesting that majority of the INT students' responses used the
verb "respecter" specifically. When as a group we use the same word over and over
again (like with the Brown students response of "flag" to "freedom"), does it mean that
we are ina way conditioned to connect certain words with each other? Do we see it on tv,
do our mothers repeat the same phrase over and over again?

For this set of responses there seemed to be an agreement of ideas but a dramatic
difference in how similarly/variedly they were expressed.

One of the only differences that seemed obvious to me was the prevalence of Brown
students' distaste for people interrupting, cutting in line, and so forth. I suppose we may
have learned this already in our interviews earlier this semester, but conversational rules
seem fairly different.

It is interesting to note that almost all of the INT students used very
similar expressions to refer to Rude people. The basic response
was "qui ne respecte pas les autres." Our class' responses varied in
the sense that more detail was added - for example, specific acts of
rudeness, a rude frame of mind, and/or rude behaviors. It's
interesting because here our class is being more detailed in our
answers compared to the INT students. What could be a possible
reason for this? INT students, what are some examples of rude
behavoir for you? Do you agree with our class' examples?

OP

Bonjour à tous,

Pour moi, en tous cas, quelqu'un d'impoli est quelqu'un qui ne respecte pas l'autre. Cela
peut être quelqu'un qui double dans les files d'attente, qui coupe la parola, qui oublie de
dire merci, qui ne tient pas la porte dans les lieux publics, qui ne respecte pas les formes
de politesse dans les discussion (particulierement le vouvoiement).
Je suis plutôt d'accord avec vos exemples d'impolitesse sauf en ce qui concerne de parler
fort. En France c'est plu^tôt considéré comme une sort d'exhubérance sauf dans les lieux
où il faut être calme (bibliothèques, banques, ...).

Bonjour à tous,
pour moi une personne impolie est une personne qui n'obéit pas aux règles de savoir
vivre .Ces règles sont dictées par la société dans laquelle on vit ,c'est pour celà que nous
n'avons pas donné les mêmes réponses,chacun de nous connaît les comportements
susceptibles d'être mal vus par ses proches et il doit en tenir compte dans son
comportement.Ceci étant, le plus dur je crois c'est de respecter ou de faire respecter ces
règles à un étranger qui vient d'une autre société ,d'une autre mentalité.
Qu'en pensez vous??

This idea of each society having different standards for what is
acceptable behavior is intriguing to me. In the US, people who are
talking loudly and interupting others in a public space are not
appreciated. The whole idea of personal space also varies between
societies. How can these rather minor details influence conceptions
of other cultures? If the social language of another culture is not
understood by a visitor, communication can be difficult. These
misunderstandings also fuel unfair misconceptions.

Hi LZ

I think you bring up a very good point. If someone is from a
different place or culture, some rules of the new culture they are
entering will most likely be different. As my other classmates
stated, talking loudly is rude for people to do over here. Loud is
usually associated with anger and an argument. It is interesting to
note that some people consider burping rude and impolite. In some
cultures, however, throughout the world, if you do not burp after
eating the meal, it is considered rude. The host family that cooked
and provided the meal assume that without a burp the person did
not like the meal. A burp, in other words, is like a compliment to the
chef. In the US, however, burping outloud in public or in
inappropriate situations is considered rude.

I think it is extremely important, therefore, that if you move and are
going to be living and immersing yourself in a new culture that is
drastically different from your own, that you do some research and
find out the practices of that culture. If you don't and expect them
to cater to your manners and things you learned while growing up,
that in itself is rude and selfish. Do you agree? That goes along with
a lot of responses to "a rude person" such as someone, "qui ne
respecte pas les autres."

It seems like, in general, however that both our class and the INT
students have the same impressions about a rude person - one who
doesn't respect others, one who doesn't listen, one who interrupts,
etc.

Thanks!

~OP

In response to the comment that people who don't observe the "vouvoiment" custom are
seen as impolite...

As an American who has spent a long amount of time in France, I often found it difficult
to figure out when to use "vous" or "tu," especially with certain teachers and friends of
my host family. Is it the general rule for you to use "vous" when addressing any older
person outside of your immediate family?

One thing I noticed in the responses to this sentence, as well as in other sentenses, is
that the INT students tend to form their sentences as negative (with ne...pas), while the
Brown students tend to write in the postive construction, even when saying something
negative (ie "who is disrespectful" versus "ne respecte pas les autres"). In class we
talked about how our English teachers have taught us to write in the positive
construction. Are sentences with "ne pas" considered well-written and acceptable in
papers for class, or it mainly a sentence construction that you use when speaking? What
are your ideas on this difference in linguistics? Do you think it's simply a linguistical
difference, or is it also a deeper cultural difference that speaks to the ideas of optimism
and pessimism?

It's also very interesting that the students of INT incorporate words like "rules" and "the
law" into their responses to what is a rude person. It seems like the American students
consider someone impolite only if they have bad people skills or have bad relations with
other people (which is their fault). However, some French students seem to consider
someone who disobeys the law to be impolite as well. Are these all laws, or just trivial
laws such as non-smoking laws?

Salut Julie,
oui il y a des lois qui interdisent de fumer dans les lieux publics : depuis peu il y a des
zones réservées dans les restaurants, les bureaux et les écoles (quand cela n'est pas
tout simplement interdit). Il est également interdit de se ballader à poil dans la rue, ce
qui est bien dommage car ça pourrait être marrant... d'autre part les municipalités
peuvent édicter leurs propres règles, par exemple interdire de se promener sans t-shirt
ou juste en maillot de bain sur les remblais de bord de plage. il y a un tas d'autres règles
comme toujours avoir son chien attaché en laisse et même lui mettre une muselière s'il
s'agit de certaines races dangereuses, interdiction de pique-niquer ou de faire du feu sur
les plages, etc. et oui on peut dire que ceux qui ne respectent pas ces règles sont
irrespectueux vis à vis des autres et sont donc impolis.