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claire H - 04:33am Oct 12, 1998 (1.)
Hi there! I am happy to see that on both sides of the atlantic
'Tradition ' is linked to family. But in France it is not related
to school because there are less and less boarding schools. I
think that if the same questionnaire was submitted to english
students they would link it more easily to 'school' (as you may
have noticed my name is not 100% french so that is the reason
why !). bye
Le mot tradition semble effectivement très lié
à la famille en France, un petit peu moins aux Etats-Unis
où c'est plutôt la religion qui revient souvent.
J'ai tout de même l'impression que les français donnent
une connotation très négative à ce mot et
à toutes les notions qui tournent autour: famille, religion,
conservatisme... J'ai plus de mal à me rendre compte de
cela pour vous, les américains. Pouvez-vous m'éclairer?
I think the roots of tradition in the American side lie very
deep since America is a country that was formed from as a fusion
of many other cultures. I think the positive connotation of tradition
and family comes from that need to know where each of us came
from, while celebrating our unity in the Nation and culture that
is America. America is a very progressive country, but I think
we use our appreciation for tradition as a method to remember,
not restrain.
In my opinion the word tradition is linked to family in america
because there is nothing else to link it to, the country is too
young to have any extended traditions thus the immediate family
and traditions that are passed from generation to generations
(ones that could be 100 or so years old) seem like the only ones
that are easily identified, whereas if you look at a country with
thousands of years of history there is more to dig into.
Many of your traditions and customs involve alcohol. In the
United States we are not allowed to consume alcohol legally before
the age of 21. If this law were to go in effect in your country,
how do you think your traditions would change? do you think it
would better or worsen the way of life? what do you think about
our drinking laws?
good question! im curious about the french response to this
question as well.
Bonjour Natalie, Tes questions nous ont fait bien rire ! Nous
sommes d`accord pour dire que la France est reputee pour son vin
mais de la a penser que : "many of your traditions and customs
involve alcohol" nous ne sommes pas d`accord ! Tout le monde
ne boit pas de vin, loin de la, mais il est facile pour nous de
pouvoir en consommer car il n`y a pas de limite d`age ni restriction.
Le fait de boire pour les Francais est presque normal, on a ete
eleve avec cette reglementation. Il n`existe pas de tabous apres
18 ans. Mais pourtant, beaucoup de jeunes de moins de 18 ans consomment
de l`alcool lors des soirees. Est ce qu`avant 21 ans pouvez vous
quand meme consommer de l`alcool facilement ?
Si on interdisait aux jeunes français de moins de 21
ans de boire de l'alcool, ça les gêneraient seulement
pour boire de la bière ou des alcools forts dans les bars,
mais ça n'empêcherait personne de consommer de l'alcool
chez soi et encore moins de boire du vin car pour le vin il n'y
a pas d'âge! Figurez-vous que bien souvent ce sont les parents
ou les grands-parents qui propose du vin aux plus jeunes!!!
Hi! I disagree with your saying (#5 of 6) that our traditions
and customs involve alcohol. It would me more precise to say that
they involve wine, which is, I think, a completely different matter,
since the answer of your question lies in the point that precisely,
we do not really consider wine as alcohol. Let me explain. Of
course all of us do know that wine is alcohol, but for us wine
is more of a social ingredient. I mean, if all one wants is alcohol,
one will drink beer or liquors, but rarely wine. You see, wine
is essential in a meal; if you recieve some people at home, you
will propose wine to everyone, notwithstanding their age,
in fact some people you would call underage to drink would be
very disappointed would you not propose some wine to them : it
is not so much the wine they want, but more to be proposed some.
On the point of regulation, in france, you cannot order alcohol
of any sort in bars before you are 16, but that doesn't apply
to buying some in supermarkets. Even if it were 21 like in the
US, I don't think it would change much, because you do not ask
for wines in bars. You drink wines with meals, which means in
private receptions or at a restaurant, and that is very very difficult
to reglementate. Could you think of a law that overrides people's
inclinations in their privacy ? The point is that such a law would
not even be discussed, because it is more the tradition that shapes
minds and then laws, and not the contrary. At your disposal, Emeric