There's always a slight bit of apprehension surrounding our two little language ditties in the right sidebar; A Little Bonjour Goes a Long way and Mangeons ~ Menu Item of the Day. The lists just keep growing! So folks alway ask:
Wait, do I have to speak French?A little "Bonjour" goes a long way... - Do I have to learn those words...
- So, do people there speak English?
- Do you guys speak French?
We've learned a bit as we've traveled to France many times over the last 30 years, and we try to keep up with it by using DuoLingo online... and lastly, Terese worked many years for Ponant, a French Expedition Cruise company headquartered in Marseille, so we'd get over there most every year as she went to their headquarters for meetings, and of course many of her colleagues were French. (we had been thinking of developing a TV show - "Terese in Provence" but the Emily in Paris folks beat us to the punch!) So while we personally are by no means fluent, we do of course need to be able to communicate with the people in the local communities where we work with real estate brokers, hire our chefs from, acquire foods, wines and provisions, and arrange tours, etc...
We encourage our guests to try to learn at least 200 words of French... One, it will make your life a little easier while you're there... (especially in cafes). Two, it shows a sign of respect to the local people... and Three, we guarantee you'll definitely have a better time, a more satisfying vacation experience, and most importantly - you'll feel really good about yourself!
So some of the local people do speak a little bit of English... And certainly in the bigger cities like Paris, Marseille, Aix, Avignon and Arles you'll find more people, especially in the hospitality industry (hotels & restaurants) that speak decent English... But in Provence, there will be fewer people that speak English... In small shops & stores that deal mostly with tourists, you're more likely to find someone who speaks some English... But in shops & stores that the locals use (think clothing, grocery, banks, hardware, farmer's markets, etc) it's not unusual that no one there speaks any English... And if they do, they're often reluctant to use it because they, just like many of us, don't feel confident in their ability... Usually their English is a whole lot better then our French... But you have to always remember, it's not their native language and most have never been to the US... More often then not, besides French, they speak a little Italian, Spanish, German and Dutch as these are nearby countries that share borders with France... So English is like a fifth language to them... Keep in mind, when you're talking to them, and they pause before answering you, they're thinking in French and are translating in their minds to English... Often, when you ask them something, you'll see their eyes staring upwards as they struggle to think of the translation...
Usually, locals will be patient with you & you'll find a way to communicate with each other... and when you do, everyone feels good about it! But it helps if you know at least a few words... Again, it shows respect to them... That's why we always say: "a little bonjour goes a long way..."
More often then not, in the Provence area, you'll find that the women speak at least a little English and the men often don't speak as much, if any... We've always speculated that it's because more of the women end up working in hospitality, and more of the men more likely end up working at the Wineries, Olive Press Mills, in the fruit orchards and in the vineyards and olive groves...
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| "Terese in Provence" |
While we're in Provence, you'll of course meet our Chefs Fabian & Coralie... Coralie has spent many years working in guest facing positions in the hotel industry and speaks pretty good English, and Fabian on the other hand, speaks really good French! Hope you're getting excited about France! We are!
