the French vs. the Franks

Là Fabrice, bien envoyé je dois dire...Ta démonstration est trop marrante!!
Je me demande même si il ne cherche pas à nous provoquer pour nous pousser dans nos retranchements...

Take film for instance:
Italian and Spanish film have a sentimental simplicity that can be really heart-warming! Noisy, but loving. French films are more silent and sad...

Of course we western Norwegians are a bit Atlantic! Melancholic... While people in Eastern Norway are almost Swedish in all their naïve happyness. And in the North they are alcoholics just like the Finns and Russians!

/me blinks at fabrice. I'd say that Scandinavians proper are the various North Germanic language-speaking groups overall; while some would say that Finland is Scandinavian, I would group it more as Baltic-Finnic, along with Estonia, with heavy Scandinavian influence due to the long period of Swedish rule, and the settlement of what are now known as Finnish Swedish in Finland. As for Lithuania and Latvia, those're Baltic (not in the geographic sense, but rather the linguistic and cultural sense), significant historical German settlement there and some nearly-assimilated native Baltic-Finnic groups aside, and Poland is Slavic culturally. As for Germany, historically Low German-speaking areas had more influence on Scandinavia (via the Hanse) than the other way around. Anyways, I'm not sure where the hell you got whatever you just spewed above from.

Yes Fredrik,

the problem is that french is kown everywhere as the "language of love"...
Sorry but can't the same about the scandinavians languages (lol). I understand that you try to provoke us, but it doesn't work!! you know my faith into my country is unwavering!!

Tell me:
What, except the language, is the common Latin heritage?

" To me, Latin is about sexiness (which central, rural France is not!), pulsating life, a live-and-let-go attitude, openness, superficiality, a distrust in the state, a strong belief in family, a cuisine with a lot of vegetables, spices and fish, strong colours, wine etc."


Suddenly I have a question in my mind... Have you put your feet once in Spain or Italy ? you seem to have an idea of it wich is full of preconcived ideas, who are a mix of mediterranean and latin american imaginary stereotypes... In Spain or Italy people don't eat spicy food !!!
They are not mexicans !!
Strong colors ?? come to southern spain or along the mediterranean... almost only white houses and towns...
Strong belief in family? It was true 50 years ago. Now with the modern society spain and italy have the lower birth rate of all europe ! No more big families with "la mamma" making pasta surounded by 15 children...
distrust in the state ? France has the biggest distrust in the state in all the wolrd... we're always striking and complaining about it !
superficiality ? Spanish and portuguese peoples are not at all superficial. They have somothing deep and tragic in their culture and folklore (saudade, flamenco)... very far from the cuban-salsa preconception you have....

I have been to Italy (Lombardia, Liguria, Veneto, Rome), but never to mainland Spain. But I have several neighbours from Spain!

travis.. I was joking !!

No, not spicy as in Latin America. But like herbes de Provence...
Yes, white (and pink etc.!) houses! While in Northern France they are grey and brown.
Superficial at first glance, but (especially Spaniards) deep and tragic, yes! That is to me Latin: People sitting together, and suddenly wanting to laugh, sing etc just because they are together and they know the world is old and cruel, but also beautiful.

Hmmm, the last things could apply to both Celts and Slavs!
Hard to define such things.

But France is often so very refined, so aristocratic, so pessimistic, so quarrelsome.
Although Spain and Italy can be refined they are simple and basic at the same time.
This is best seen in the films and in the cuisine.

What, except the language, is the common Latin heritage?

the language is the most important thing when speaking about cultural groups. Europe is divided in three main linguistic-cultural group :
The latins, the germanics, the slavic. (some other outside those groups: greeks, finnish, hungarians...)
The language carries with him the deep heart of its soul, its petry, its litterature, its history, its memory, its laws, its vision of the world...

The language is very important because it put the peoples close to each other. the latinity brings with it values, which, for some of them are linked with the importance of cathlicism in the latin countries. The human relations are also pretty much different of what they are in northern europe, the taste fr a good quality of life, with the big influence of the "mediterranean diet" (wine, bread, olive oil, vegetables). the mentality of people : the most important for us is the pleasure you have living, eating, making love, much more than the material things. we are hedonists...

French is perhaps still the language of love for the refined and educated ones, but here in Norway English and Spanish have replaced French as the language of love, I would say, mostly because of Hollywood films.

French films are always so sad, negative and dark (noir). People want love to be positive, and not connected to mistresses, prostitutes, syphilis and other artistic things!

I think it depends more on wether you live north or south of the Alps and if you are a Catholic or not!