The French and American notions of culture seem to
share many elements. The American observations tend to
have a common theme of the projective aspects of
culture -- namely art, music, language, and
self-expression. The French, who also mention these
products, emphsize more than the Americans the
importance of culture on the individual
epistemologically -- "savoir", "curiosité",
"compréhension" and "point de repère". Are these
knowledge-based aspects of culture more or less
important than the products or expression of culture
emphasized by the Americans?

The Americans also often had such associations as
"ethnicity," "heritage," "traditions," etc. To the
French the word "culture" means mostly high culture, I
think, while Americans think of different nationalities,
of personal culture. Besides that, even among the
Americans who posted "art, music, history," etc, nobody
said "education," or "knowledge," as many of the French
did. To the French, culture seems more like something
that must be attained through learning. So perhaps a
"cultured" person to the French is like an
"intellectual" person to the Americans.

>So perhaps a "cultured" person to the French is like an
>"intellectual" person to the Americans.

exactement natalia (x2 ;o) ) plus précisement,
"intellectuel" en tant qu'adjectif en France va (ou
devrait aller) forcément avec "cultivé".mais il ne faut pas confondre avec "un intellectuel", qui reste une personne publique qui s'exprime sur des faits contemporains, etc (comme Bernard Henri Levy,
Alain Finkielkraut, etc).