villages of France
I'm sorry if this topic is not directly linked to the linguistics, but it has been longly discussed things about french and France here that it would be interesting to have some of your opinions.
The question is : which one among those tipical french villages from various regions (Provence, Normandy, Lyon region, North, Alsace, Ile-de-France, Vendée, south west, Rhone valley, Britany) best represent the image you have when you think of France?
In other words which of these images seem to you more quintessentially french?
1.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijx5fofuO.bmp
2.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijQyNJcwx.jpg
3.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijG4qW7Li.jpg
4.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijYZ8wstx.jpg
5.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijVqjUF3b.jpg
6.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cij4hpBiva.jpg
7.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijrEeeLId.jpg
8.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijykw9SKW.jpg
9.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cij1SeVgcx.jpg
10.
http://www.cijoint.fr/cj200905/cijHov84Zd.bmp
Please try to shoose only one.
The second question is "could you be able to relate each one of these images with a specific aea of France just by looking at the architecture and general ambiance? And try to do it.
Thank you.
Maybe No.6 is village in Alsace,looks like village in Southwest Germany.Houses have fachwerk structure of walls.
DOn't go in France they are racist
10. Looks like Italy (must be Corsica)
9. Looks like Spain (must be Catalonia)
8. Also looks like Spain.
7. Looks like Italy. Côte d'Azur?
6. Looks like Germany. Definitely Alsace.
5. Looks like France. Quitessentially French.
4. Very French too with the slate roofs and windows with small panes. Maybe Brittany.
3. Extremely French. My guess: near Bourges, in the heart of France.
2. Normandy, of course.
1. South-West, near Spain.
There are nicer countries than France in Europe. France is only a stereotype of beauty in the STates..
obviously! Their brains work only by stereotypes
Francia tiene una naturaleza magnifica y su arquitectura es de las mas hermosas del mundo. Además la atmosfera de sus pueblos,sobre todo del sur, es como la de Italia e Iberia así que Vive la France.
PD: Eso sí, ellos son más sosetes.
I think 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 do it for me, but if I had to choose just one, then it would be 5.
I would not have been able at first to identify which goes where. I agree, some look very Spanish, even Southwest US.
>>Maybe No.6 is village in Alsace,looks like village in Southwest Germany.Houses have fachwerk structure of walls.
>>6. Looks like Germany. Definitely Alsace.
Freiheit für Elsaß und Lothringen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
" 5. Looks like France. Quitessentially French.
4. Very French too with the slate roofs and windows with small panes. Maybe Brittany.
3. Extremely French. My guess: near Bourges, in the heart of France. "
" I think 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 do it for me, but if I had to choose just one, then it would be 5. "
That's interesting.
I see both of you have selected only the most tipically northern exemples of french villages as being quintessentially french:
n°5 is tipical of villages in Ile-de-France (Paris region), Beauce région. Because it is close to Paris it might explain that it is seen as tipically french, while it is tipical to that northern région only.
n°4 is tipical from Britanny. You can usually find similar slate roofs in the north-western regions: Britanny, Loire valley from Nantes to Orleans, Some parts of Normandy. But slate roofs are also found in mountainous areas, especially along Italian Alps and Spanish pirenean borders.
n°3 to me is not as tipically french as 4 & 5. It is in Nord-pas-de-Calais region, and shows more similarities with belgian villages than with the rest of northern half of France such as 4 and 5 does.
n°6 Is VERY "German". You can find those kind of villages only in Alsace and some pats of Moselle along german border. No one other part of France does.
Some other exemples that you excluded of being quintessentially french are not necessary in the south (or at least not in the "mediterranean south"):
n°9 can looks like a Spanish village but is actually in Vendée, in north-central west of France, just south of Britanny. It is quite tipical of the Atlantic coast from vendée to Gironde. You find similars in islands like Ile d'Oleron, Ile de ré, Ile d'Yeu...
n°10 is a small village in central-east of France, north of Lyon, not far from southern Burgondy. Yes it already has a sort of Italian feel, but is tipical from southern Burgondy/Rhone-Alpes areas.
The others exemple are in the southern half of the country:
n°8 is in Rhone Valley, in Rhone-Alpes region, bit south of Lyon. It is tipical of Provençal villages even if it is in Drome region (that was part of historical province of provence)
n°7 is in Provence, lubéron, near Aix-en-Provence
n°1 is in south west, north of Toulouse but not that close to Spain. southern brick architecture tipical of Toulouse area.
Quintessential France these days would look like a village in Algeria.
I'd also have to go along with 4 and 5. 4 looks big, while 5 looks small.
Note -- my image of France is totally undistorted by reality (I've never been anyplace in France).
Frederick Hohenstaufen Fri May 15, 2009 6:54 pm GMT
>>Maybe No.6 is village in Alsace,looks like village in Southwest Germany.Houses have fachwerk structure of walls.
>>6. Looks like Germany. Definitely Alsace.
Freiheit für Elsaß und Lothringen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
___________________________________
oh shut up! I don't want to be germans or independant!
Je suis né en Alsace et je n'ai jamais ressenti le besoin d'être indépendant de la France ou quoi que ce soit, on est une fière région française, fière de nos racines multiples (même si on se moque un peu des "français de l'intérieur", et puis on est surtout européen.
Ça m'énerve quand des étrangers viennent se mêler de notre histoire, surtout pour sortir des bêtises pareilles!
Beautifull all, but #4 for me.