The Bonjour Effect : The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed - Jean-Benoit Nadeau

The Bonjour Effect

The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed

By: Jean-Benoit Nadeau, Julie Barlow

Paperback | 13 July 2017 | Edition Number 1

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Why do the French enjoy starting a conversation with an argument? Why do they love talking about the decline of their country? Why do they claim to hate their jobs even when they don't, and fall silent if anyone so much as mentions money?

Conversation is an art form in France, guided by a complex set of rules, codes, conventions and taboos fit to make the bravest foreigner reach for the cognac. In The Bonjour Effect, the bestselling authors and journalists Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau take a `hugely engaging' (France Today) tour through French culture, to reveal that talking to the French is not about communicating or being nice: it's about being interesting.

With their extensive experience living and travelling in France, and dealing with everyone from shopkeepers and waiters to doctors and business associates, they teach us how to navigate the choppy waters of French culture and make a little language go a long way. Even if you only have un petit peu de French, after reading The Bonjour Effect you will be able to hold your own when you next walk into a bistro on the Left Bank.

About the Author

Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau are the award-winning and bestselling authors of The Story of French, The Story of Spanish, and the bestselling Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong. They currently work as journalists based in Canada.
Industry Reviews

'This book confirms what the English have suspected for many years, that French is not so much a language as a dance, a ritual, a code to be cracked. The Bonjour Effect cracks it' David Boyle, author of How to be English


'An indispensable linguistic roadmap. A highly enjoyable romp through French culture and its language, written with wit and aplomb' Debra Ollivier, author Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl


'Whether you're an expat in France, or simply dream of living there one day, The Bonjour Effect is a helpful resource to cracking the arcane cultural code. Engaging and often funny, filled with examples drawn from the authors' experiences, this is a guide to the most essential of French arts: conversation' Ann Mah, author of Mastering the Art of French Eating


'Whether 'bonjour' is the beginning or the end of your French vocabulary, you'll find something fascinating, surprising, or just plain fou on nearly every page. Before reading this invaluable codebook to French language and culture, I feared that I'd somehow insulted every French waiter, shopkeeper, and clerk between Paris and Nice. Now I know I did, but at least I know why!' William Alexander, author of Flirting with French


'The ability to speak French doesn't mean you know how to have a conversation in French in France. Journalists Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau break down the 'rules' of French conversation in their new book The Bonjour Effect' CBC


'A lively and informative description of the country's cultural habits...' Lysiane Gagnon, The Globe and Mail


'Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau unravel the mysteries of French conversation. They take readers beyond what the French are actually saying to explain what it is they really mean' Shannon Broderick, Gonomad.com


'Very funny' Rudy Maxa's World with the Careys


'Packed with fascinating insights' 49th Shelf

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