A Human Being writes:

    > What makes you think they are ?

There is a slow but steady incursion of other cultures, particularly
that of the United States but also to a lesser extent the cultures of
former French colonies, and there is no corresponding export of
culture to other parts of the world. The net result is a gradual
contraction and disappearance of French culture. It's hardly
something that will take place overnight, but if current trends occur
the extinction of French culture is inevitable. The French
themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
culture.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Mxsmanic <[email protected]> wrote:

    >A Human Being writes:
    >> What makes you think they are ?
    >There is a slow but steady incursion of other cultures, particularly
    >that of the United States but also to a lesser extent the cultures of
    >former French colonies, and there is no corresponding export of
    >culture to other parts of the world. The net result is a gradual
    >contraction and disappearance of French culture. It's hardly
    >something that will take place overnight, but if current trends occur
    >the extinction of French culture is inevitable.

Culture is not static. Culture groups adopt, adapt, and assimilate
elements from other cultures all the time. It's neither good nor bad:
it's simply how things are.

    >The French
    >themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    >about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    >culture.
    >
How very, ahem, French. So long as they can do that, their culture
will survive.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED
My travel writing: http://www.iol.ie/~draoi/

On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:20:36 +0200, *~* Magda *~* <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >On 22 Aug 2006 12:15:14 -0700, in rec.travel.europe, "A Human Being"
    ><[email protected]> arranged some electrons, so they looked like this:
    > ...
    > ... Mxsmanic wrote:
    > ... > A Human Being writes:
    > ... >
    > ... > > Why ?
    > ... >
    > ... > The French are gradually abandoning their language and culture.
    > ...
    > ... What makes you think they are ?
    >Dog helps us, now they are arguing with each other...

A not really clever ploy to make us believe they are not one and the
same.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---
--

On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:25:07 +0200, in rec.travel.europe, Dave Frightens Me
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> arranged some electrons, so they looked like
this:

... >On 22 Aug 2006 12:15:14 -0700, in rec.travel.europe, "A Human Being"
... ><[email protected]> arranged some electrons, so they looked like this:
... > ...
... > ... Mxsmanic wrote:
... > ... > A Human Being writes:
... > ... >
... > ... > > Why ?
... > ... >
... > ... > The French are gradually abandoning their language and culture.
... > ...
... > ... What makes you think they are ?
... >
... >Dog helps us, now they are arguing with each other...
...
... A not really clever ploy to make us believe they are not one and the
... same.

Nothing of what he does is clever. What else is new?

On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 00:25:07 +0200, Dave Frightens Me
<deepfreudmoors@eITmISaACTUALLYiREAL!l.nu> wrote:

    >On Tue, 22 Aug 2006 21:20:36 +0200, *~* Magda *~* <[email protected]>
    >wrote:
    >>On 22 Aug 2006 12:15:14 -0700, in rec.travel.europe, "A Human Being"
    >><[email protected]> arranged some electrons, so they looked like this:
    >> ...
    >> ... Mxsmanic wrote:
    >> ... > A Human Being writes:
    >> ... >
    >> ... > > Why ?
    >> ... >
    >> ... > The French are gradually abandoning their language and culture.
    >> ...
    >> ... What makes you think they are ?
    >>Dog helps us, now they are arguing with each other...
    >A not really clever ploy to make us believe they are not one and the
    >same.

Dog and God or Mixi and ABS or both?
--

Martin

Mxsmanic wrote:
The French
    > themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    > about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    > culture.

And, at the same time, the U.S. culture is adopting different south and
central American ones, with plenty of words creeping into the daily
language and foods into the daily diet.

That just proves cultures are not static.

J.

On 23 Aug 2006 02:32:40 -0700, "Jordi" <[email protected]>
wrote:

    >Mxsmanic wrote:
    > The French
    >> themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    >> about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    >> culture.
    >And, at the same time, the U.S. culture is adopting different south and
    >central American ones, with plenty of words creeping into the daily
    >language and foods into the daily diet.

Best exemplified by the day some years ago when salsa took over
from ketchup as the most popular condiment.

    >That just proves cultures are not static.



************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

Mxsmanic wrote:
    > A Human Being writes:
    > > What makes you think they are ?
    > There is a slow but steady incursion of other cultures, particularly
    > that of the United States but also to a lesser extent the cultures of
    > former French colonies, and there is no corresponding export of
    > culture to other parts of the world.

Cultures are exported with people. France or at least Paris has a large
number of American expats. Are there as many French people living in
the US?
To me it also seems that cultures that are very different retain their
identity longer while those that have fewer dissimilarities tend to
merge easily. I haven't seen all that much of French culture my visits
being limited to Paris, but what I have seen doesn't seem remarkably
different from English and some other western cultures as compared to
say the eastern cultures. Besides modern American culture is mostly
about a convenient lifestyle so its very likely to appeal to the
population in most developed nations. On the other hand the culture of
the former French colonies appears to be limited to their own
population.

-
    > The net result is a gradual
    > contraction and disappearance of French culture. It's hardly
    > something that will take place overnight, but if current trends occur
    > the extinction of French culture is inevitable. The French
    > themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    > about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    > culture.
    >
    > --
    > Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

A Human Being writes:

    > Cultures are exported with people. France or at least Paris has a large
    > number of American expats.

If I remember correctly, there are only a few tens of thousands of
Americans living in France.

    > Are there as many French people living in the US?

Again IIRC, there are about ten times as many French people living in
the USA as there are Americans living in France, which means that the
French are perhaps 50 times more likely to emigrate to the USA than
Americans are to emigrate to France.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

"Mxsmanic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Again IIRC, there are about ten times as many French people living in
    > the USA as there are Americans living in France,

I have no idea if this is true but let's take it as given.

    > which means that the
    > French are perhaps 50 times more likely to emigrate to the USA than
    > Americans are to emigrate to France.

Would you care to explain the mathematics behind that statement? How does a
10:1 ratio result from a 50:1 ratio? Do the French emigrate to the USA to
die? Do 80% of them get lost on the way?

T.

Mxsmanic wrote:
    > The French
    > themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    > about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    > culture.

Nothing in what you write suggests that you have the remotest clue what
French culture actually *is*, or that you are appropriately positioned
to comment on it. Your unsupported pronouncements on the subject may
therefore not necesarily be accepted as fact by a reader.

B;

[email protected] wrote:
    > Mxsmanic wrote:
    > > The French
    > > themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    > > about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    > > culture.
    > Nothing in what you write suggests that you have the remotest clue what
    > French culture actually *is*,

French or any other culture *is* how the people perceive it to be, and
perceptions and interpretations are subjective .

    > or that you are appropriately positioned
    > to comment on it. Your unsupported pronouncements on the subject may
    > therefore not necesarily be accepted as fact by a reader.

Nor would yours or mine be fact. All ideas expressed are opinions.

    >
    > B;

On 25 Aug 2006 00:19:32 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

    >Mxsmanic wrote:
    >> The French
    >> themselves, in their bizarre doublethink, simultaneously complain
    >> about other cultures and they adopt them wholesale, especially U.S.
    >> culture.
    >Nothing in what you write suggests that you have the remotest clue what
    >French culture actually *is*, or that you are appropriately positioned
    >to comment on it. Your unsupported pronouncements on the subject may
    >therefore not necesarily be accepted as fact by a reader.

Considering how long he has lived in France he is remarkably ignorant
about most thing French, including the language.
--

Martin

Mxsmanic wrote:
    > A Human Being writes:
    > > Cultures are exported with people. France or at least Paris has a large
    > > number of American expats.
    > If I remember correctly, there are only a few tens of thousands of
    > Americans living in France.
    > > Are there as many French people living in the US?
    > Again IIRC, there are about ten times as many French people living in
    > the USA as there are Americans living in France, which means that the
    > French are perhaps 50 times more likely to emigrate to the USA than
    > Americans are to emigrate to France.

But the USA is also much larger in size and unless the emigrants live
in close knit communities it would be difficult to preserve one's own
culture.

    >
    > --
    > Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 08:49:30 +0200, "Terry Richards"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >"Mxsmanic" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >news:[email protected].. .
    >> Again IIRC, there are about ten times as many French people living in
    >> the USA as there are Americans living in France,
    >I have no idea if this is true but let's take it as given.
    >> which means that the
    >> French are perhaps 50 times more likely to emigrate to the USA than
    >> Americans are to emigrate to France.
    >Would you care to explain the mathematics behind that statement? How does a
    >10:1 ratio result from a 50:1 ratio? Do the French emigrate to the USA to
    >die? Do 80% of them get lost on the way?

It's the population difference. The USA has five times the
population of France, and five times ten is fifty.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ([email protected]) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *