Canadian Language Education Questions

[Valmy]

When you have a meeting in less than an hour there is no time for refined tastes.  That can wait until dinner 

[Duque de Bragança]

When you have a meeting in less than an hour there is no time for refined tastes.  That can wait until dinner 

The French will find time for it!    

[Valmy]

Do people typically lead with "je voudrais"?

Well you usually say 'salut' first or something.  Huh...granted it has been a long time but I didn't think there was anything formal about 'je voudrais'.  I used it to order everything IIRC.

[Martinus]

When you have a meeting in less than an hour there is no time for refined tastes.  That can wait until dinner 

The French will find time for it!    

So, by how many percentage points did the French economy grow over the last 5 years, again?

[Valmy]

So, by how many percentage points did the French economy grow over the last 5 years, again?

So...clearly all that money going to the restaurant industry should have been invested elsewhere?

[Martinus]

One day I must go to Paris and order a Royale with Cheese. Even though I'm not keen on McDonalds.

I checked.  The word for Whopper in Paris is Whopper.  Though they would say 'le Whopper'.

You're lucky (sort of), Burger King is back in Paris. People say that it's still better than Mc Donald's or Quick.
People are more likely to use "un" when ordering "je voudrais un ..."

Peter
That would be "un Royal Cheese" there.

Do people typically lead with "je voudrais"? I had been practicing some basic French and had a fri...acquaintance is probably better term, note to me that I was wasting time as most people wouldn't order so formally.

When I lived in Brussels, I tried at first to order everything in French but they would always switch to English in response. So I just order in English anywhere I go, Brussels or Paris, now.

[Martinus]

So, by how many percentage points did the French economy grow over the last 5 years, again?

So...clearly all that money going to the restaurant industry should have been invested elsewhere?

I think it's more the question of an attitude. If you always find time to have a 2 hour lunch, no matter other commitments, you get less stuff done.

[Valmy]

So, by how many percentage points did the French economy grow over the last 5 years, again?

So...clearly all that money going to the restaurant industry should have been invested elsewhere?

I think it's more the question of an attitude. If you always find time to have a 2 hour lunch, no matter other commitments, you get less stuff done.

In my experience working there they were pretty productive workers and I usually got excellent service wherever I went.  Their workers are typically considered pretty productive.  I think it has more to do with how their government manages their economy than a fault of workforce.  I mean yeah they are first worlders so have a first world shitty entitled attitude but certainly no worse than I see over here.

[Duque de Bragança]

One day I must go to Paris and order a Royale with Cheese. Even though I'm not keen on McDonalds.

I checked.  The word for Whopper in Paris is Whopper.  Though they would say 'le Whopper'.

You're lucky (sort of), Burger King is back in Paris. People say that it's still better than Mc Donald's or Quick.
People are more likely to use "un" when ordering "je voudrais un ..."

Peter
That would be "un Royal Cheese" there.

Do people typically lead with "je voudrais"? I had been practicing some basic French and had a fri...acquaintance is probably better term, note to me that I was wasting time as most people wouldn't order so formally.

Formal way, seldom used would "Bonjour, auriez-vous l'obligeance de m'apporter (..)" 
Proper way would be "Bonjour, je voudrais..."

So that's not formal, just common courtesy. If in a restaurant, they are more likely to use it than say a fast-food joint where it will be, at best, "un menu XYZ s'il vous plaît" or "je prendrai(s) un(e) XYZ s'il vous plaît". The " Bonjour, un(e) XYZ s'il vous plaît" works at cafés too.

edit: The use of conditionnel (with the s ending) instead of future (without the s ending) makes it more polite, but most people do not make the distinction (phonetical) anymore sadly.

[Martinus]

So, by how many percentage points did the French economy grow over the last 5 years, again?

So...clearly all that money going to the restaurant industry should have been invested elsewhere?

I think it's more the question of an attitude. If you always find time to have a 2 hour lunch, no matter other commitments, you get less stuff done.

In my experience working there they were pretty productive workers and I usually got excellent service wherever I went.  Their workers are typically considered pretty productive.  I think it has more to do with how their government manages their economy than a fault of workforce.  I mean yeah they are first worlders so have a first world shitty entitled attitude but certainly no worse than I see over here.

Your francophilia keeps preventing me from successfully trolling Duque. 

[Duque de Bragança]

Peter
That would be "un Royal Cheese" there.

Not according to Vincent Vega. 

He was in Amsterdam, not Paris (no legal pot there). 

[Valmy]

When I lived in Brussels, I tried at first to order everything in French but they would always switch to English in response. So I just order in English anywhere I go, Brussels or Paris, now.

Speaking of Belgians a Flemish professor came in my power course today and gave us a lecture on the state of the European Power grid and all the problems integrating wind and other renewables.  He said he did not have time to make a separate presentation so he just used the slides he uses to teach his class at KU Leuven.  They were almost entirely in English there were like two dutch phrases in the whole thing.  So...Engineering gets taught in English in Flanders?  Is that normal?

[garbon]

Formal way, seldom used would "Bonjour, auriez-vous l'obligeance de m'apporter (..)" 
Proper way would be "Bonjour, je voudrais..."

So that's not formal, just common courtesy. If in a restaurant, they are more likely to use it than say a fast-food joint where it will be, at best, "un menu XYZ s'il vous plaît" or "je prendrais un(e) XYZ s'il vous plaît". The " Bonjour, un(e) XYZ s'il vous plaît" works at cafés too.

Thanks. Sorry, I shouldn't have said formally but basically what I was told was something similar to how "I would like to have..." isn't necessarily the most common way to order in English. If I think on it, I either just say the name of what I want, say "I'll have" or "Can I have".

[Valmy]

Your francophilia keeps preventing me from successfully trolling Duque. 

Sorry

[Martinus]

When I lived in Brussels, I tried at first to order everything in French but they would always switch to English in response. So I just order in English anywhere I go, Brussels or Paris, now.

Speaking of Belgians a Flemish professor came in my power course today and gave us a lecture on the state of the European Power grid and all the problems integrating wind and other renewables.  He said he did not have time to make a separate presentation so he just used the slides he uses to teach his class at KU Leuven.  They were almost entirely in English there were like two dutch phrases in the whole thing.  So...Engineering gets taught in English in Flanders?  Is that normal?

I wouldn't be surprised. I think in the Netherlands and Sweden, local tv stations sometimes just broadcast English movies in the original version (without subtitles), as the English language knowledge is so widespread. I had classes in English back at the uni (admittedly, in English law) and I graduated 15 years ago so this must have progressed since.