Hi all, I’m coming over to the Charente for two months in March……I really want to make an effort so what’s your most useful phrase etc?
“Bonjour” - always, everywhere, prefacing whatever else you might go on to say.
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And if you feel really adventurous/extra polite, you could add ‘Monsieur’ or ‘Madame’ after the Bonjour. (Assuming the person’s identity is clear of course).
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Or, indeed, if you are entering a small shop, doctor’s surgery, etc, just a collective “Monsieur, dame” [Messieurs, dames] with no “bonjour” murmured to the assembled company waiting to be served goes down well.
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Suggested by an American lady who wrote a really useful book back in the day to help Americans inculturate and I have found this to be really helpful, with appropriate variations of the latter part …
“Je suis désolé de vous déranger mais j’ai un problème”
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I hope she said ‘Bonjour’ first!
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Yes, sorry, I omitted that because it had already been mentioned but of course it is essential! Usually with Monsieur or Madame tacked onto the Bonjour.
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If we are on politesse, then “je voudrais…….” is better than “je veux……”. Of course one can just omit it all as in just saying the thing you want, but politeness nevers goes down badly from a foreigner.
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A lot of French people say “je prends…” in a shop which sounds awfully rude to me.
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I would add “petit” before the “problème” - important not to frighten them. The first instinct of a French person is to say “no, it can’t be done” so one has to gently ease them past that. (Gosh, I’m sounding like Stella!)
I always apologise for not speaking French well - especially on the telephone.
“Je suis désolée, je ne parle pas bien le français.”
And if they then speak some English I ALWAYS thank them for doing so.
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Thinking about that - it’s what I generally do!
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And in restaurants, from the menu. I like it - shows I’m being more French.
The French tend to find the English overly polite/gushing with too many “mercis” and “merci beaucoups”
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I agree.
I would be ok with it for example in a restaurent when ordering your choice of main course, but in local bakery I would chose to say “un pain svp” rather than je prends. Hang over from english I suppose.
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I don’t actually find that rude. After all the shopkeeper is not about to say No you can’t have it, are they? It’s a shop, you have gone in to buy something and if you see what you want and you have the money then you get it, both of you know that.
I agree that politeness in France is more about being respectful, saying Bonjour and Bon fin de journée etc, but not all the Please, could I have, thank you, would you mind, sorry.
Saying that, like JaneJones I am more likely to start off with Une baguette s’il vous plaît, then when the inevitable next question comes ‘Et avec ça?’ I will say 'et je prends… ’ (usually deux tartes au citron).
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Saying ‘je prends…’ strikes me as being similar to the deeply annoying US English use of the phrase ‘can I get…?’. Using ‘je voudrais’ is so much gentler/less arrogant.
It’s spreading & needs to be stopped!
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And yet the standard phrase you are often greeted with in a shop or bar is “Bonjour M(me), qu’est-ce que vous prenez?”. This is nothing new.
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“Mon aéroglisseur est plein d’anguilles” ?
“Bonjour” has to be le top of course.
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's interesting that the conditional - je voudrais/I would like - really is the way in FR/ENG, 'je veux/I want’ being far too blunt, to the point of being rude.
But I have been told off by ES pals and seen it on a lang vid that the conditional ‘quisiera’ in ES is NEVER used. Apparently it sounds dreadfully old fashioned/pompous.
So, I guess the Spanish are blighted by a load of pompous French and Brits all trying to be polite.
It’s a straight out 'quiero’ - I want.
I suspect most do.
And in ES, the equivalent of ‘bonjour’ is likewise universal but oddly, nobody in everyday circmstances says ‘buenos dias’ - it’s shortened to just ‘buenas …’
Languages are fun …
It’s as above. Different languages have different nuances for levels of, in this case, politeness. The Americans use “I’ll take …” as well. Or just "Gimme… "
At a bar one time 
I heard an American said to the barman, “A glass of dry white and gimme a cuddy”
A cuddy? What’s a cuddy? Never heard of that. Turned out to be American for Cutty, as in Cutty Sark Scotch.
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That way round is fine - it’s an offer, not a request.
Equally, a person serving can say ‘Can I get you xxx?’ as that is what they are there to do.
Maybe I’m just weird, but if someone asks me ‘Can I get xxx?’ then I would probably answer with ‘possibly, somewhere…’ .