I noticed that there were many answers about not saying hello. I don't think it's considered rude in America to talk to someone without saying hello. Why do you think it's that way in France?

Dire bonjour est normalement la première chose que fera un français poli lorsqu'il adressera la parole à quelqu'un. Que ce soit un ami, ou une personne totalement inconnue, s'il me demande l'heure qu'il est rien qu'en me regardant, sans m'avoir dit bonjour plus tôt, je serais assez dérangé car j'estime que pour s'adresser à quelqu'un, il ne suffit pas simplement de le regarder, mais aussi de lui dire bonjour, par simple politesse.

Les réponses américaines parlent beaucoup de "manners". De quelles genres de manières parlez-vous ? Ne trouvez-vous pas que dire Bonjour à une personne fait partie des bonnes manières qu'une personne doit avoir ?

"Manners" can refer to things like saying "please," "thank you," and "excuse me."  It can also refer to table manners, like putting your napkin on your lap, keeping your elbows off the table, and not speaking with your mouth full.  It is usually considered polite to greet someone before talking to them, but there are many options for how to greet someone.  "Excuse me" is a good option for stopping strangers to ask for the time or directions.  When I run into a friend, I might say "hey" or "what's up?".  That's informal, but not rude.  Going entirely without a greeting is probably rude, but it happens.  If someone was otherwise polite and pleasant, I probably wouldn't notice if they didn't say "hello."

Après, je pense que cela dépend beaucoup du contexte. Les réactions ne seront pas les mêmes en fonction de la personne, si c'est un membre de la famille ou un ami, une connaissance, un parfait inconnu...

En ce qui me concerne, si c'est la famille ou un ami, la politesse n'est pas au premier plan, je n'en voudrais pas à cette personne si elle ne me disait pas bonjour, ou autre. En revanche, pour des personnes moins proches, aborder une personne sans les formules classiques telles que "excusez-moi" ou "bonjour" serait dans un premier temps assez mal vu.

Globalement, il y a des quand même des règles de conduite que j'estime importantes pour communiquer de façon plus "cordiale" je dirais.

When is it permissible to address an older person with 'tu' instead of 'vous'? How long do you have to know them in order to be able to do so? would you ever address your parents with 'tu'?

La question du tutoiement  ou du vouvoiement est difficile à trancher, mais ce n'est pas vraiment une question d'âge.

En ce qui concerne la famille, le tutoiement est le plus naturel. Très peu de personnes disent  « vous » à leurs parents (au singulier bien entendu), bien que cela puisse se trouver encore dans certaines familles.

Globalement, une fois adulte, on ne tutoie que les personnes dont on est proche ou devient proche (bien sur, cela reste  relatif) : famille, amis, ...

Un manque de respect serait de tutoyer d'emblée un inconnu ou un supérieur hiérarchique.

I find it interesting that there is a difference between 'vous' and 'tu' when regarding different people. All of my life I've referred to anyone who was older than me, including my parents, in the spanish form of 'vous'. I always confuse myself when speaking in English because I'm thinking 'this person is older and I need to be respectful' but its always the same 'you'. 

For those of you that have substantial experience with the English language, did you find that using 'you' for both 'vous' and 'tu' bizarre? 

In Chinese, there's the same thing, where you address older people (usually grandparents) with a more respectful "you." I don't find it too bizarre to use "you" for everyone in English, but I can certainly see where there can be some confusion. 

How do the French react to rude people? Will they walk away, tell the person that they are being rude, also act rude, do nothing etc.? In the US there can be many different reactions: sometimes, rudeness causes others to act rude too, or they might pretend like they don't notice. 

In Korean, there is a smiliar term to "vous" but it's not really an equivalent. Mostly we just use "you" to address friends, but not any other time. For example, if I were to say "how are you" to my grandpa, I'd say "how is grandpa" to him, or I would ask my mom "what did mom say" to ask her what she said. It's weird for me when I write emails in whcih I ask professors to explain something to me and I write "you". So instead I just write "could you please..." to make up for it. 

Benjamin -- I also want to weigh in on the cultural difference about saying "hello" in France. Guide books always stress that you should say "bonjour" when entering a store and "au revoir" upon leaving, even if those are the only French words you can learn on your short vacation!

Some of it may be that we have a lot of BIG stores and Paris and other cities in France have many SMALL shops. I can't imagine going into the bookstore -- called the Coop -- and saying "hello" to a row of cashiers. And going up to a cashier, I might smile instead of saying "hello."

I think Americans tend to be rushed and so see employees as serving them. So when a waiter comes up, you might just blurt out, "I'll have a Coke and a hamburger, medium rare, no fries," and then go back to reading your book or typing on your iPhone. I totally understand how it seems rude! On the other end, I am sure it often feels rude!

One of the French students said a rude person "uses incorrect words."  Incorrect how?

I agree with Deb on the size factor. It would be strange to walk into a superstore like Walmart and say hello to everyone, but when checking out, people try to smile and be polite to the cashiers and/or baggers in the store. So there is still an expectation of politeness, but it is on a different level than in France.

I think that the american society is less mannerly when compared to the other developed societies. I say this because in my experiences here, it is acceptable not to greet other in the mornings. For example, if I go to a morning lecture especially, you rarely greet your fellow classmates. At stores though, the workers and cashiers exchange pleasantries with you, but I am almost certain that that is part of their job description. However, it is not uncommon to not be greeted even at stores. Another example, which I experience everyday, occurs when I buy breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. The greeting to me their is usually 'NEXT!'. 

*The greeting to me there is usually 'NEXT!'. 

I have been working on this "good morning" or "hello" thing at Starbucks. Once I pay attention to it, I notice that I am inclined to greet people, especially sales clerks, whom  I know, whereas I have to make an effort if I don't know the person. It's fascinating to try to break yourself of a habit that simply reflects your own culture!

En France il est courant de dire bonjour à une caissière de supermarché ou à un serveur dans un restaurant. De même dans la rue, pour parler à un inconnu, on utilisera comme l'a dit olivier un "bonjour" comme un "excusez-moi" ou un "s'il vous plait ?" simplement pour attirer l'attention.

Par contre, je ne pense pas que le fait de ne pas dire bonjour à toutes ses connaissances le matin soit vu comme une impolitesse. A l'école, il est fréquent de dire bonjour à tout le monde quand on arrive dans un groupe de trois ou quatre personnes, mais au-delà on n'a pas forcément le temps (ni le courage) : dire bonjour est assez laboreux en France puisqu'il faut serrer la main aux garçons et faire la bise aux filles, ce qui deviendrait vite ingérable si on l'appliquait à la lettre pour les 100 personnes et quelques avec qui on a cours (je vous laisse calculer les 2 parmis 100 "bonjour"... ).

* parmi

Speaking of hand shakes and kisses, I have always wondered why the French are so inclined to kiss on the cheek when they meet/greet one another.  I have always thought that the French were especially friendly because of their warm greetings, even from someone I only met once.  Yet in class we learned that most of the time, the French are not as outgoing as Americans are and do not necessarily stop to speak with strangers.  So if the French are not as keen on greeting so many people, why are they so friendly with some people they hardly know and kiss them on the cheek?  Is the kiss not a bit too personal??

Je pense que c'est dans notre culture de faire ça. Nous avons été éduqués à faire la bise, et celà doit se transmettre de génération en génération.

La bise n'est pas trop personnelle pour un français, parce que nous n'avons pas cette perception de la chose, et nous avons l'habitude. Par exemple, pour un japonais, serrer la main est considéré comme une offense, alors qu'en Europe, c'est la manière naturelle de se saluer. Et le fait de se saluer à la japonaise (en se penchant en avant) peut être pris comme un équivalent de notre poignée de main ou de notre bise.

-- Laura Gilson

La signification de  "mots incorrects" est simplement "impolite words".