The french are not negative - it is just a (body) language thing

INTERPRETING THE GALLIC SHRUG AND NEGATIVE-AS-POSITIVE PHRASES WILL MAKE COMMUNICATING A PLEASURE When you first get to know French people, the shrugs and intonations can seem rather

negative, particularly if your own culture is more upbeat. There is not a lot of ‘hey, how are you doing today?’ with wide grins and bouncy greetings, which can leave visitors feeling

under-appreciated. If an American friend is impressed, she might react with wide-eyed congratulations and a hug – and even British people will show a bit of enthusiasm and a ‘well done’.

Here in Brittany, by contrast, one of the greatest compliments you can receive is _pas mal _(not bad), accompanied by a slow nod and a Robert De Niro-style mouth-shrug. Notice that the

approval centres around a negative. READ MORE: REALLY SPEAK LIKE A LOCAL… USE THESE FRENCH FILLER WORDS MASTERCLASS IN NEGATIVE-AS-POSITIVE PHRASES We have a few of these expressions

ourselves, such as ‘you’re not wrong’ (which the French also love – _c’est pas faux!_). However, the French excel in negative-as-positive phrases. At this time of year, you will certainly

hear _fait pas chaud, hein?_ (it’s not warm) or _pas très beau ce matin_ (not very nice this morning). READ MORE: DUCK COLD! FRENCH PHRASES TO USE FOR CHILLY WEATHER To warm you up, you

might be offered a coffee but even this might need some interpreting. _Tu veux pas un café_ could be misconstrued as a declaration that you do not want a coffee, but with a verbal lift it

becomes a question. In English, ‘don’t you want a coffee?’ suggests you have already turned one down, but _tu veux pas un café?_ is an offer – more like ‘wouldn’t you like a nice coffee?’.

WHAT TO MAKE OF JAMAIS Purists will have noticed I have missed out the _ne_ in these examples, because in speech you do not often hear it. There is a whole list of negation pairs. We learn

that _je ne mange pas_ is ‘I don’t eat’,_ je ne mange jamais_ is ‘I never eat’ and_ je ne mange plus_ is ‘I no longer eat’. It is not that simple. While _je n’ai jamais vu ce film_ is ‘I

have never seen this film’, _c’est le meilleur film que j’aie jamais vu_ tells you ‘it’s the best film I have ever seen’. In short, the French are not really negative – it’s just another

language thing. RELATED ARTICLES FIVE TIPS FOR LEARNING TO SPEAK FRENCH IN LATER LIFE WHAT IS BEHIND THE CRAZE FOR NONSENSE MADE-UP WORDS IN FRENCH? HOW MANY OF THESE 10 SLANG FRENCH PHRASES

DO YOU KNOW?