Enthusiasm

Emily Monaco explains how the outlook of the typical American is more focused on emotion and intentions than the typical Francophone. She bolsters support for this view by noting that there is no easy way to translate the word English word excitement (in the sense of joyful anticipation of the future) into a French word with positive connotations.

Monaco explains that cultural values result in people presenting themselves differently:

For Julie Barlow, Canadian co-author of The Story of French and The Bonjour Effect, this is largely due to the implied enthusiasm in the word ‘excited’, something that’s not sought after in French culture. She notes that Francophone Canadians, culturally North American rather than French, find work-arounds such as ‘Ça m’enthousiasme’ (‘It enthuses me’).

'[The French] don't appreciate in conversation a kind of positive, sunny exuberance that's really typical of Americans and that we really value,' Barlow explained. 'Verbally, ‘I'm so excited’ is sort of a smile in words. French people prefer to come across as kind of negative, by reflex.'

In reflecting on the French focus on the present, I infer that marketing items with a future reward (lotteries or a blissful afterlife) might require a different approach than in the United States.

-DD

Passive Voice

Geoffery Pullum has written an article titled "Fear and Loathing of the English Passive ." Pullum's article abstract notes "I provide an informal but comprehensive syntactic description of passive clauses in English, and then exhibit numerous published examples of incompetent criticism in which critics reveal that they cannot tell passives from actives. Some seem to confuse the grammatical concept with a rhetorical one involving inadequate attribution of agency or responsibility, but not all examples are thus explained. The specific stylistic charges leveled against the passive are entirely baseless."

I confess I need to read this article in full: however, from just glancing at a few examples this appears to be a vigorous essay.

-DD