The highs and lows of 'growing up French'
Social media users in France described on Thursday how they have had to deal with a raft of misconceptions about the French that were revealed as the hashtag "GrowingUpFrench" soared to the top of Twitter trends.
The hashtag #GrowingUpFrench became the top trend on Twitter in France on Thursday, with thousands taking a trip down memory lane to share their favourite childhood television shows and characters, the music they used to listen to, or the US TV stars they had a crush on.
It appears that the trend began by French tweeters who grew up abroad, or who have dual nationality, explaining why so many of the tweets (and indeed the hashtag itself) are in English. Later in the day, many French people joined in in their mother tongue, mainly to reminisce.
Regardless of the language, the tweets provided an interesting and amusing inside look into the misconceptions that many French forced to live with when growing up, especially when encountering foreigners in France or abroad.
For example, many took the chance to point out that some people tend to think all French people are from Paris. In reality, only about two million people live in the French capital, while the population of France is over 65 million.
#growingupfrench "You're French ?" "yes." "oh I love Paris" but not every French person lives in Paris lmao
— elodie ✨ (@fluffyjmo) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench when you live somewhere else than paris but nobody knew there were other cities in france
— nastasia (@klainerhapsody) July 15, 2015
Others were more forgiving, pointing out that some foreigners could at least throw in Cannes too, a town that's known worldwide for its international film festival.
"Where are you from ? -France -From Paris or from Cannes?" #GrowingUpFrench
— GET WEIRD (@angelftlouis) July 16, 2015
And sticking to the subject of the French capital, many talked of how the French capital wasn't quite the city of romance and love foreigners believed it was.
#GrowingUpFrench hearing people say "I wanna go to Paris it's so romantic" but all you can think about is how dirty the streets are
— solène (@NormanisBuddy) July 15, 2015
"Where are u from ?" "Paris" "Oh the city of love" "More like the city of pigeon" #growingupfrench
— Opia (@vogueries) July 15, 2015
Others headed to the dinner table to pick on one of the more common misconceptions about the French - their dining habits.
#GrowingUpFrench having to prove that no, you don't eat snails and frogs
— inac (@withxran) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench baguettes and croissant are a part of everyday meals SNAILS AND FROGS ARE NOT PART OF IT
— JustOneMentalista (@JMentalista) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench " oh i love the fromage " " how the fuck can you eat snails" " wine wine it's all about the wine isn't it" " BOWNJOUWR"
— cat baelish (@AmyRickman) July 15, 2015
Other stereotypes were also broached with some tweeters lamenting having to grow up with others thinking they were a coward, a popular misconception made popular after France's quick surrender during World War II.
#GrowingUpFrench all the world think you're a coward
— Liver (@crspinxvr) July 16, 2015
One tweeter even managed to combine most of these misconceptions into one short tweet:
#GrowingUpFrench "so like.. You're rude right? Do you eat snails? Like can you speak French? Have you ever seen the Eiffel Tower?"
— ♈️Maelis♈️ (@Maelis26269336) July 15, 2015
For some social media users, it wasn't so much about the misconceptions from abroad, rather the pains they suffered themselves growing up French. One popular topic was language. This ranged from the most difficult of language faux pas in their mother tongue....
#growingupfrench getting a look of death when u accidentally used "Tu" instead of "vous" to a person of authority
— ıɯǝɹ (@rmsyrs) July 16, 2015
... to trying to adapt French words so foreigners could pronounce them too.
Having to pronounce your last name different in america for anyone to understand what you are saying #GrowingUpfrench
— Andrea (@AndreaGagnon24) July 15, 2015
Others pointed out the difficulties of the dreaded English-language classes at school (... and we think the first tweeter meant 'hoovering'):
"Brian is in the kitchen." "Jenny is hovering the carpet." How to learn english in French schools... #GrowingUpFrench
— Killian is my anchor (@HooksPatronus) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench sounding like a dying cat whenever we speak English
— ines (@devonnebyariana) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench & hearing everytime that you try to speak English with strangers "oh your accent is so funny!". So is your French one, dude
— Fluffy Sarah (@MysteryWriter_) July 15, 2015
Some mentioned that growing up French was all getting used to the country's customs, such as French people's penchant for a good strike or their customary cheek kisses when greeting one another.
#GrowingUpFrench c'est aussi apprendre que les grèves, ça fera parti de ton quotidien... pic.twitter.com/XdqFRziNjj
— OranginaRose (@oranginarose) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench feeling super awkward when you go for the wrong amount of peck per cheek in different regions
— 북극곰2.0 (@daaaailyblossom) July 16, 2015
Elsewhere, food, glorious food was one of the hottest conversation topics on Twitter. And it's no surprise, French cuisine is a some of the most well known in the world and a key ingredient in French life.
#GrowingUpFrench when your mom wakes you up at 8 in the morning to buy bread for breakfast pic.twitter.com/V0cdAhL1bb
— daisy (@daisynism) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench when you know what the war between "pain au chocolat" and "chocolatine" is
— Alyssa (@proud2Bcraycray) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench Trying to see where the goddam figurine is in the galette des rois so you can be the King/Queen
#growingupfrench je n'aime pas escargots
— Meghan (@_meghaannx3) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench Having the privilege of eating this regularly. pic.twitter.com/8l6QB96q1m
— Ambre (@MajesticRobyn) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench a summary pic.twitter.com/vmLj2S5kKW
— owen grady (@deanmonized) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench You taste champagne around the age of 2, cause that's how we do it
And lastly, among the thousands of tweets with the #GrowingUpFrench hashtag, some just picked on random elements of their upbringing to share with the world. Here's a selection.
#GrowingUpFrench every time you make a complaint you hear "c'est la vie"
— Camlet (@CambaWalker) July 15, 2015
YOU SHOULD HAVE GROWN UP FRENCH JUST TO EXPERIMENT THE WAR OF VACATION ZONES EVERY YEAR the worst french war ever #GrowingUpFrench
— rictusempra (@Shurlx) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench we don't have prom night but hey we can bring food on the last day and we can sit on the tables
— Sondos. (@sondoverdose) July 15, 2015
#growingupfrench it's when christophe maé was one of your first crush ever pic.twitter.com/POHhqmRxtu
— liam!julie | 17 (@INDOMINVSREX) July 15, 2015
By Thursday afternoon the hashtag showed no signs of slowing down, as more and more French people joined in the English speakers. Click here to see the best tweets of the day, and here for the live stream as they come in.
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#growingupfrench "You're French ?" "yes." "oh I love Paris" but not every French person lives in Paris lmao
— elodie ✨ (@fluffyjmo) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench when you live somewhere else than paris but nobody knew there were other cities in france
— nastasia (@klainerhapsody) July 15, 2015
"Where are you from ? -France -From Paris or from Cannes?" #GrowingUpFrench
— GET WEIRD (@angelftlouis) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench hearing people say "I wanna go to Paris it's so romantic" but all you can think about is how dirty the streets are
— solène (@NormanisBuddy) July 15, 2015
"Where are u from ?" "Paris" "Oh the city of love" "More like the city of pigeon" #growingupfrench
— Opia (@vogueries) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench having to prove that no, you don't eat snails and frogs
— inac (@withxran) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench baguettes and croissant are a part of everyday meals SNAILS AND FROGS ARE NOT PART OF IT
— JustOneMentalista (@JMentalista) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench " oh i love the fromage " " how the fuck can you eat snails" " wine wine it's all about the wine isn't it" " BOWNJOUWR"
— cat baelish (@AmyRickman) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench all the world think you're a coward
— Liver (@crspinxvr) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench "so like.. You're rude right? Do you eat snails? Like can you speak French? Have you ever seen the Eiffel Tower?"
— ♈️Maelis♈️ (@Maelis26269336) July 15, 2015
#growingupfrench getting a look of death when u accidentally used "Tu" instead of "vous" to a person of authority
— ıɯǝɹ (@rmsyrs) July 16, 2015
Having to pronounce your last name different in america for anyone to understand what you are saying #GrowingUpfrench
— Andrea (@AndreaGagnon24) July 15, 2015
"Brian is in the kitchen." "Jenny is hovering the carpet." How to learn english in French schools... #GrowingUpFrench
— Killian is my anchor (@HooksPatronus) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench sounding like a dying cat whenever we speak English
— ines (@devonnebyariana) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench & hearing everytime that you try to speak English with strangers "oh your accent is so funny!". So is your French one, dude
— Fluffy Sarah (@MysteryWriter_) July 15, 2015
Some mentioned that growing up French was all getting used to the country's customs, such as French people's penchant for a good strike or their customary cheek kisses when greeting one another.
#GrowingUpFrench c'est aussi apprendre que les grèves, ça fera parti de ton quotidien... pic.twitter.com/XdqFRziNjj
— OranginaRose (@oranginarose) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench feeling super awkward when you go for the wrong amount of peck per cheek in different regions
— 북극곰2.0 (@daaaailyblossom) July 16, 2015
Elsewhere, food, glorious food was one of the hottest conversation topics on Twitter. And it's no surprise, French cuisine is a some of the most well known in the world and a key ingredient in French life.
#GrowingUpFrench when your mom wakes you up at 8 in the morning to buy bread for breakfast pic.twitter.com/V0cdAhL1bb
— daisy (@daisynism) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench when you know what the war between "pain au chocolat" and "chocolatine" is
— Alyssa (@proud2Bcraycray) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench Trying to see where the goddam figurine is in the galette des rois so you can be the King/Queen
#growingupfrench je n'aime pas escargots
— Meghan (@_meghaannx3) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench Having the privilege of eating this regularly. pic.twitter.com/8l6QB96q1m
— Ambre (@MajesticRobyn) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench a summary pic.twitter.com/vmLj2S5kKW
— owen grady (@deanmonized) July 16, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench You taste champagne around the age of 2, cause that's how we do it
And lastly, among the thousands of tweets with the #GrowingUpFrench hashtag, some just picked on random elements of their upbringing to share with the world. Here's a selection.
#GrowingUpFrench every time you make a complaint you hear "c'est la vie"
— Camlet (@CambaWalker) July 15, 2015
YOU SHOULD HAVE GROWN UP FRENCH JUST TO EXPERIMENT THE WAR OF VACATION ZONES EVERY YEAR the worst french war ever #GrowingUpFrench
— rictusempra (@Shurlx) July 15, 2015
#GrowingUpFrench we don't have prom night but hey we can bring food on the last day and we can sit on the tables
— Sondos. (@sondoverdose) July 15, 2015
#growingupfrench it's when christophe maé was one of your first crush ever pic.twitter.com/POHhqmRxtu
— liam!julie | 17 (@INDOMINVSREX) July 15, 2015
By Thursday afternoon the hashtag showed no signs of slowing down, as more and more French people joined in the English speakers. Click here to see the best tweets of the day, and here for the live stream as they come in.
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