Search Sort Posts:  Oldest to newest Newest to oldest

11/04/2008, 17:08 Cathy Joined on 07/03/2006 Mostly near Bordeaux; Sometimes near Bristol Posts 1,860 The British Today, I was at a horse riding school (in France) and there was a Northern Irish man, a Welsh lady and me, truly an English rose through-and-through .  A French lady saw us and said: 'Ah, les Anglais'.  I wanted to say that we were British but didn't know how.  I told her (in French) that we were from different parts of Les Iles Britannique instead. Is there a word for 'British' in the French language.  I googled it and it came up Britannique but is this actually a word that is used?     Cathy ----- Your children won't remember you ironing their pyjamas but they will remember you reading them a bedside story.    Report

11/04/2008, 17:32 Benjamin Joined on 21/08/2005 Vendée South Posts 1,718 Re: The British British = britannique Northern Irish = irlandais du nord Welsh = gallois(e) I think Benjamin St Malo 1-New evidence suggests mis-trial    Report

11/04/2008, 18:40 5-element Joined on 28/10/2006 Languedoc Posts 907 Re: The British "Les Britanniques" is what should, but is seldom, used. I have lost count of the number of times I have pointed out to French people that saying about a Scottish or or Welsh person that they are "anglais" would be a bit like confusing the French with the Swiss or the Belgians. You would have thought that someone like president Sarkozy should know better, but no: I noticed him making the same mistake, referring to  "les Anglais" when it should have been "les Britanniques". Which is almost unforgivable, IMHO. Some things are truly hard to change.    Report

11/04/2008, 21:31 sweet 17 Joined on 05/08/2006 charente maritime Posts 2,635 Re: The British Definitely, Britannique is correct.  Our mairie used it first of all to us and about us and I have used it ever since without any French person correcting me.  Donc, must be OK, n'est pas?    Report

12/04/2008, 9:12 Compo Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 731 Re: The British And I am very keen to emphasise whenever I can that this    is the flag of les anglais...   And not this       In fact, I have found the flag as a very good way of getting free beer in many UK pubs from people whom I challenge to describe or draw the English flag for me. They almost always come up with the latter above. Americans are particularly gullible.  And perhaps it is also important to educate people that the second flag is called the Union Flag and not the Union Jack (unless, of course, it is on a ship).    Report

12/04/2008, 12:51 allanb Joined on 04/09/2006 Posts 553 Re: The British It's our own fault; we haven't got the English language properly organized to describe our own nationality. The sovereign state of which I am a citizen (and most of you too) is not Britain.  It is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (if in doubt, see passport).  This name, commonly abbreviated to "the UK", makes it officially clear that Britain does not include Northern Ireland. Since the adjective "British" is clearly derived from Britain, the obvious conclusion is that "British" doesn't apply to all citizens of the UK.  Actually we all know that it does include the Scots and the Welsh; but can you blame the French for being confused? At least if they use the word "English" they are correctly describing most of the British immigrants in France. Incidentally, the UK name also implies that "Great Britain" is something different from "Britain", but that's another question.  Perhaps it has something to do with the Isle of Wight.    Report

12/04/2008, 12:51 NormanH Joined on 10/04/2008 Posts 179 Re: The British The nationality of everybody from the UK is "Britannique", and this should be used when filling in an official form. Of course in conversation one is free to say "Anglais" "Ecossais" etc...    Report

12/04/2008, 12:58 Compo Joined on 23/08/2004 Posts 731 Re: The British And while we are on this subject, please do not forget 23rd April is not far away...    Report

12/04/2008, 13:03 5-element Joined on 28/10/2006 Languedoc Posts 907 Re: The British  allanb wrote:  "British" doesn't apply to all citizens of the UK???????????????????????????????????????????????? .  Actually we all know that it does include the Scots and the Welsh; but can you blame the French for being confused? At least if they use the word "English" they are correctly describing most of the British immigrants in France. On the whole, the French are NOT confused. They do know about pays de Galles and Ecosse, and Irlande du Nord. They do know that not all "Britanniques" are "anglais". It's just that they fail to see that it would matter to the people concerned. I can't see how "English" describes most British immigrants to France. You are what it says on your passport, which you then have to translate to fill in various French forms, i.e.:   Nationalité = Britannique...... not anglais, gallois, écossais.....    Report

Page 1 of 5 (38 items) 1 2 3 4 5 >

France Forum » French Culture » French Language » Re: The British

(Quick links) Forums Home |- Search Forums |- Active Topics |- Unanswered Posts User Options |- Sign In |- Join this community |- Forgot Password About This Forum (READ ONLY) |- About This Forum Moving |- Finding/Owning French Property |- Making the Move From Outside the EU |- Long-Term Letting |- Employment Vacancies in France Legal and Finance |- French Legal Issues |- French Finance Building and Renovation |- House Renovations |-- Working with Wood Living |- Earning a Living |- Driving |- French Education |- Pets |- Animal Welfare, Rescue & Protection |- French Satellite TV, French Internet and Telephone |- Health |-- Changes to Healthcare Entitlement, CPAM, CMU and Cartes Vitales |- Swimming Pools in France Owning/Running a Business |- French Artisans |- Gite Owners |- Hotel and Restaurant Owners |- B&B/Chambres d'Hôtes Owners Leisure and Pastimes |- Gardening |- Sport, Leisure and Pastimes |- Shopping |- French Antiques, Arts & Crafts |- Photography |- Motorcycling in France |- Books and Literature |- Getting Married in France |- Pregnancy and Birth French Culture |- French Food and Wine |- French Culture |- French Language |-- French Language FAQs and Useful Links |- Wildlife/Nature/Environment |- French History Travelling to/from France |- Travelling to/from France |- Latest Good Value Deals to/from France Holidays |- Holidays General Discussion |- The Complete France Post Bag |- The Lighter Side |- Other Topics |- Forum Technical Support |- Useful Links About France/French Living Regions |- HOTEL SEARCH |- Central |- North East |- North West |- Paris Ile de France |- South East |- South West |- East |- West |- Corsica and DOM-TOMs