異域文化衝撞: 與法國人共事指南

In a British work meeting, the aim is usually to make decisions. Nobody will expound a philosophy of, say, the toiletries market.

英國人的工作會議通常以決策爲目標。沒有人會在會上詳細解釋化妝品市場基本原理之類的東西。

If they do, they are joking. (Approximately 61 per cent of British work conversation is spent trying to be funny.) But French meetings are different, says a new guide to Franco-British business relationships.

如果人們真的這樣做了，他們是在開玩笑。（英國人61%的工作對話花在了開玩笑上。）但一本新出版的法英商務關係指南認爲，法國人的會議截然不同。

In France, “a meeting is a debate... In extreme cases a very unstructured meeting in France may be perceived by the British as an 'intellectual orgy'.”

在法國，“會議是一場辯論……極端情況下，法國的一場天馬行空的會議可能被英國人視爲‘思想的狂歡’”。

The fascinating bilingual guide “Light at the End of the Tunnel: Practical Reflections on the French and British in Business”, published by the French chamber of commerce in Great Britain, is full of shrewd insights into both sides' codes. My only question is whether that's much use. After 11 years in Paris, I reckon the main reason for Franco-British incomprehension isn't clashing codes. It's different languages.

這本引人入勝的雙語指南《希望之光：對法英商務的務實思考》(Light at the End of the Tunnel: Practical Reflections on the French and British in Business)由法國駐英商會出版，書中充滿對兩國行爲準則的敏銳見解。我的唯一疑問是：這能起大作用嗎？在巴黎居住11年後，我認爲法英之間理解困難的主要原因不是行爲準則的衝突，而是語言的不同。

The chamber's guide joins a long tradition.

商會的指南是長期以來諸多類似文獻的最新一部。

In 1944, for instance, the UK's Foreign Office issued the booklet “Instructions for British Servicemen in France”. Sixty years later it was republished as a cult classic. Many of its recommendations remain useful, such as: “It is as well to drop any ideas about French women based on stories of Montmartre and nude cabaret shows.”

例如1944年，英國外交部(Foreign Office)出版了小冊子《在法英國軍人指南》(Instructions for British Servicemen in France)。60年後，此書再版，但只在特定的人羣中備受推崇。書中不乏有用的建議，例如：“對於根據蒙馬特高地（《玫瑰色人生》和《紅磨坊》等電影的取材背景——譯者注）和裸體歌舞表演形成的對法國女人的看法，不如將其拋諸腦後。”

By contrast, the chamber of commerce's guide concentrates on working life.

相比之下，商會的指南則以工作生活爲主題。

From its bullet-points emerges a picture of a French boss strangely like the late French comic actor Louis de Funes: loud, excitable, given to tantrums, and usually late himself. Here are some of the guide's insights into French business practices:

從一條條羅列的語句中，一個奇像已故法國喜劇演員路易??德菲內斯(Louis de Funes)的法國老闆形象躍然紙上：聒噪、易激動、愛發脾氣、自己經常遲到。以下節選了指南中對法國商務習慣的一些觀察：

“Raising one's voice or losing one's temper may be seen as a sign of leadership”

“提高語調或發脾氣會被視爲領導地位的體現”

The French “sometimes disagree for the sake of discussion and to test conviction”

法國人“發表不同意見，有時只是爲了討論的需要，或是考驗對方的信念”

They make “greater use of... body expression in confrontational situations”

法國人“在劍拔弩張的時刻會更多地運用肢體語言”

Performance appraisals “start as a 'one way' process subsequently evolving into an emotional dialogue”

績效評估“一開始是‘單向’的過程，爾後演變成情緒激動的對話”

“Criticism can descend into personal observations”.

“批評可能淪爲人身攻擊式的言論”

There are other differences besides. A British employer might hire you for your experience, or because you were captain of cricket at school. In France, what matters is education. Cleverness rules. Consequently, the guide says, in meetings the French can be “perceived as arrogant due to use of intellect and logical arguments”. Even worse, for Britons: French business people “will potentially view humour as lack of seriousness”.

此外還有其他差異。英國僱主僱傭你，可能是看中你的經驗，或是因爲你曾是學校的板球隊隊長。在法國，教育修養纔是最重要的。聰明的頭腦高於一切。因此指南中寫道，在會議中法國人可能“會因爲運用才智和邏輯清晰的論述而被認爲傲慢”。更糟的是，英國人請注意：法國商務人士“可能會將幽默視爲態度不嚴肅”。

Meanwhile, the French - like everyone else on earth - are baffled when Britons say inscrutable things like, “I agree with you, up to a point.” (Guide for foreigners: this means, “That's insane!”) As a Dutchman I know in a British company complains, it's tiring being in a workplace where nobody ever says what they mean.

與此同時，法國人像地球上所有其他人一樣，弄不懂英國人一些難以理解的話，如“我在一定程度上同意你的看法。”（外國人請注意，這句話的意思其實是：“你瘋了！”）我認識一位在英國公司工作的荷蘭人，正如他抱怨的那樣，在一個人人說話拐彎抹角的地方工作着實令人厭倦。

The chamber's guide was written by “a group of plain-speaking non-academic Franco-British business men and women” who understand both countries. They explain French and British codes well. And yet knowing another country's codes is of limited use. If you are British, your French interlocutor won't expect you to act French. She knows you are different. Maybe she even likes that. She may, for instance, have an exaggerated admiration for “le fair-play britannique”. She probably understands that British executives share emotions only when drunk. People tend to allow each other their national codes, up to a point.

商會指南的作者是“一羣直率、不學究氣的法英男女商務人士”，他們深諳兩國國情。他們對法英行爲準則的解釋準確得當。但瞭解別國準則的用處並不大。如果你是英國人，那麼與你對話的法國人不會指望你表現出法國人的舉止。她知道你是不同的，甚至喜歡你的不同。例如，她可能會誇張地表示出對“英式公平競賽”的讚賞。她可能知道，英國高管只有喝醉時纔會表露情緒。人們往往尊重彼此國家的行爲準則——但只是在一定程度上。

The greater Franco-British problem is language. Most French business people under 50 can now speak “Globish“: the simplified, dull, idiom-free version of English with a small vocabulary. It's silly to expect more from them. If Brits had discovered circa 1995 that English no longer sufficed internationally, they wouldn't have adapted well either.

法英交流的更大問題是語言。如今，50歲以下的法國商務人士大多會說“全球語”(Globish)：枯燥、無習語、詞彙貧乏的簡化版英語。指望他們更上一層樓是不現實的。假如英國人在1995年前後發現英語再也無法滿足國際交流的需要，他們也將難以迅速適應。

Globish just about gets the French through international business meetings. But it isn't enough for building relationships. French people build working relationships over lunch, and Brits over evening beers, but the principle is the same: this is when trust is created, and information casually exchanged. And these informal exchanges only happen between people who speak the same language almost perfectly.

“全球語”只能讓法國人應付國際性的商務會議，但還不足以用於建立關係。法國人通過午餐建立工作關係，英國人通過晚上喝啤酒建立工作關係，但原則是一樣的：在兩種場合下，都可以建立信任，以一種輕鬆的方式交換信息。而這種非正式交流，只能在流利說得同一門語言的人之間進行。

I've seen it at conferences. During the day, everyone spends the sessions checking email. Then the French go for dinner together to speak French. The British eat with the Americans (often swapping complaints about the French). At 11pm the Americans go to bed, and the Brits go to the bar to build more trust.

我在會議中親歷過這一現象。白天，大家在會上查閱電子郵件。然後，法國人與法國人共進晚餐，這樣他們便能說法語。英國人和美國人一起用餐（往往是在抱怨法國人）。晚上11點，美國人上牀睡覺，英國人去酒吧建立進一步的信任。

These exchanges pay off. The Zurich-based economists Peter H. Egger and Andrea Lassmann recently analysed 81 academic articles on language and international trade. They found that on average a common language “increases trade flows directly by 44 per cent”. That's where things break down between French and British.

這些交流頗有好處。蘇黎世的經濟學家彼得??H??埃格爾(Peter H. Egger)和安德烈婭??拉斯曼(Andrea Lassman)近期分析了81篇有關語言和國際貿易的學術論文。他們發現，同說一門語言平均能“直接將貿易流動提高44%”。而法國人和英國人恰恰交流不暢。

It's customary at this point to urge British schools to start teaching French again. But that probably wouldn't help. When dealing with French people, only near-native French confers an advantage. Speaking mediocre French is worse than useless. If mediocre French is all you have, it's much better to speak English, and force the French person to operate on your turf. Then when he has a tantrum, just smile fondly and say: “I agree with you, up to a point.”

說到這裏，照例應當敦促英國學校重新開始教授法語。但這恐怕沒有幫助。在與法國人打交道時，只有接近母語水平的法語才能夠帶來優勢。一般水平的法語毫無用處可言。如果你的法語水平平庸，倒不妨說英語，逼迫法國人遷就你。假如他發了脾氣，那就溫柔地笑笑，說：“我在一定程度上同意你的看法。”