Personally, I think of Europe as many different countries. Every country in Europe is very different and has its distinct culture, so I view them all separately. I take Economics and from that standpoint, I'd say I group them more together because of the EU and Euro. I think of it as one economic union. But still each country obviously has its own economy and interests. We hear lots about Airbus, for instance, and all of its woes and those are definitely associated with France, rather than Europe as a whole. Hope this helps!

Geoffrey

coucou geoffrey.

Eh bien moi je penses pareil que toi à savoir que je ne vois pas l'Europe comme un tout, une unité.Je trouve que chaque pays à sa propre culture et elles se distinguent vraiment les une des autres. MAIS chaque pays apportent beaucoup aux uns et aux autres. L'Europe est tout de même une bonne chose...les frontières deviennes de plus en plus superficielles ce qui permet de voyager plus facilement et ainsi de découvrir d'autres cultures totalement différentes. voila bob courage pour la lecture..lol

élodie

I'll admit that I tend to think of Europe as one mass country, especially in terms of its importance in Western civilization (such as "the European influence on art"). However, I think most Americans are able to make the proper distinctions between countries, although not everyone knows the geography.

C'est marrant parceque je ne pensais pas que l'on puisse imaginer l'Europe comme étant "one mass country"... Pour moi la France et l'Europe sont deux entités disitinctes même si elle marche ensemble : mais il ne faut pas "mal-comprendre" cela, je ne pense pas que la France devrait être séparé de l'Europe, au contraire ! C'est juste que l'Europe ne peux pas être envisager comme "one mass country" car ce n'est pas un Etat fédéral come les Etats Unis et chaque Etat est vraiment indépendant...

Clémence

I've never encountered Europe as one big clump before. On the contrary, European countries are some of the few that Americans can name off the top of their heads I think.

We tend to make generalizations about every other continent though. For example, if you ask my father he'll refer to everyone in Latin America as Mexican. And they speak Mexican too, not Spanish. :)

Africa is

repeatedly

referred to as a country, not a continent. People will say over and over things like: "Many countries are involved including France, China, and Africa." Newspaper headlines will say, "New Breakthrough in Africa" or "More violence in Africa" but won't refer to the actual country.

Europe get's the good treatment :)

I mostly agree with everything people have said. I think Americans view each European country somewhat independantly, but also, there is a specific idea or feeling when someone says something is "European." If someone says that an idea or a product or a person is "European" there definitely is a certain idea that people think of.

So, I think it is somewhere in the middle. To me is seems that Europe is viewed as many very interconnected, but seperate, countries.

Undoubtedly, the most popular French response for Europe was "Union," which said to me that the French are very concerned about their government and probably follow it closely. However, few of us Americans mentioned government in our responses to America. Do you think the French have a greater concern, or maybe pride, for their government than Americans?

Coucou Erica,

je pense en effet que les français suivent d'assez près le gouvernement et ce qu'il s'y passe. A propos de l'Europe, l'opinion est très controversée, certains pensent qu'il serait bien de ne former qu'un, d'autres non... perso, je ne sais pas trop ce que j'en pense.

salut...

Moi je me posais une question à savoir comment les américains voient l'Europe... comme un grand état' comme vous,un regroupement d'Etats...ou un truc purement économique... (ou autre) parce qu'après tout... l'Europe n'a pas de constitution, et la plupart du temps on en parle par rapport à l'économie...

j'attends vos rep!!

k-ro

Hi,

I think almost everyone thinks of Europe as a comglomerate of countries trying to come together to an agreement that will benefit them economically. My view is that the main reason for unification is economic, but also a bit social. However, there is always the issue of how proceed with unification, but at the same time maintaining identities, and at the same time haveing cultural share.

My opinion is that, as long as Europe is not unified fiscally, but only monetarily, there is no feasibility of "real" unification. The cultural exchange is something that happens naturally, and the EU helps and "turbocharges" this cultural exhange making it easier to travel and echange products/services.

In short, I think the EU is both beneficial and exciting for Europe in general.

coucou!!

merci beaucoup de m'avoir donné ton avis.. jsuis contente de voir que malgré la distance qui nous sépare, on voit les chose de la même manière... ca prouve que même si on a pas forcément la même culture... on peut avoir les même opinions sur des sujets qui nous touchent de près ou de loin!!

A part ca, tu peux me parler 1peu de toi'

à bientôt j'espère....

k-ro

Hey Caroline, or "K-ro" (that's cute)

I think that many Americans generalize European art, or other cultural elements that come from Europe ("European influence"). But I am fairly sure most Americans distinguish between countries, even if they aren't sure of the government structure. I admit, I don't think I know all the countries that are currently part of the Union. I should get on that.

Have a great day!

- Erica

Hi Erica!!

J'ai vu dans les réponses aux associations de mots en rapport avec l'Europe que le mot "France" revenait à plusieurs reprises...est -ce que tu saurais me dire pourquoi' merci d'avance

à bientôt biz

k-ro