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In a British work meeting, the aim is usually to make decisions. Nobody will expound a philosophy of, say, the toiletries market.
英国人的工作会议通常以决策为目标。没有人会在会上详细解释化妆品市场基本原理之类的东西。
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.
如果人们真的这样做了，他们是在开玩笑。（英国人61%的工作对话花在了开玩笑上。）但一本新出版的法英商务关系指南认为，法国人的会议截然不同。
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'.”
在法国，“会议是一场辩论……极端情况下，法国的一场天马行空的会议可能被英国人视为‘思想的狂欢’”。
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.
这本引人入胜的双语指南《希望之光：对法英商务的务实思考》(Light at the End of the Tunnel: Practical Reflections on the French and British in Business)由法国驻英商会出版，书中充满对两国行为准则的敏锐见解。我的唯一疑问是：这能起大作用吗？在巴黎居住11年后，我认为法英之间理解困难的主要原因不是行为准则的冲突，而是语言的不同。
The chamber's guide joins a long tradition.
商会的指南是长期以来诸多类似文献的最新一部。
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，英国外交部(Foreign Office)出版了小册子《在法英国军人指南》(Instructions for British Servicemen in France)。60年后，此书再版，但只在特定的人群中备受推崇。书中不乏有用的建议，例如：“对于根据蒙马特高地（《玫瑰色人生》和《红磨坊》等电影的取材背景——译者注）和裸体歌舞表演形成的对法国女人的看法，不如将其抛诸脑后。”
By contrast, the chamber of commerce's guide concentrates on working life.
相比之下，商会的指南则以工作生活为主题。
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:
从一条条罗列的语句中，一个奇像已故法国喜剧演员路易??德菲内斯(Louis de Funes)的法国老板形象跃然纸上：聒噪、易激动、爱发脾气、自己经常迟到。以下节选了指南中对法国商务习惯的一些观察：
“Raising one's voice or losing one's temper may be seen as a sign of leadership”
“提高语调或发脾气会被视为领导地位的体现”
The French “sometimes disagree for the sake of discussion and to test conviction”
法国人“发表不同意见，有时只是为了讨论的需要，或是考验对方的信念”
They make “greater use of... body expression in confrontational situations”
法国人“在剑拔弩张的时刻会更多地运用肢体语言”
Performance appraisals “start as a 'one way' process subsequently evolving into an emotional dialogue”
绩效评估“一开始是‘单向’的过程，尔后演变成情绪激动的对话”
“Criticism can descend into personal observations”.
“批评可能沦为人身攻击式的言论”
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”.
此外还有其他差异。英国雇主雇佣你，可能是看中你的经验，或是因为你曾是学校的板球队队长。在法国，教育修养才是最重要的。聪明的头脑高于一切。因此指南中写道，在会议中法国人可能“会因为运用才智和逻辑清晰的论述而被认为傲慢”。更糟的是，英国人请注意：法国商务人士“可能会将幽默视为态度不严肃”。
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.
与此同时，法国人像地球上所有其他人一样，弄不懂英国人一些难以理解的话，如“我在一定程度上同意你的看法。”（外国人请注意，这句话的意思其实是：“你疯了！”）我认识一位在英国公司工作的荷兰人，正如他抱怨的那样，在一个人人说话拐弯抹角的地方工作着实令人厌倦。
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.
商会指南的作者是“一群直率、不学究气的法英男女商务人士”，他们深谙两国国情。他们对法英行为准则的解释准确得当。但了解别国准则的用处并不大。如果你是英国人，那么与你对话的法国人不会指望你表现出法国人的举止。她知道你是不同的，甚至喜欢你的不同。例如，她可能会夸张地表示出对“英式公平竞赛”的赞赏。她可能知道，英国高管只有喝醉时才会表露情绪。人们往往尊重彼此国家的行为准则——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.
法英交流的更大问题是语言。如今，50岁以下的法国商务人士大多会说“全球语”(Globish)：枯燥、无习语、词汇贫乏的简化版英语。指望他们更上一层楼是不现实的。假如英国人在1995年前后发现英语再也无法满足国际交流的需要，他们也将难以迅速适应。
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.
“全球语”只能让法国人应付国际性的商务会议，但还不足以用于建立关系。法国人通过午餐建立工作关系，英国人通过晚上喝啤酒建立工作关系，但原则是一样的：在两种场合下，都可以建立信任，以一种轻松的方式交换信息。而这种非正式交流，只能在流利说得同一门语言的人之间进行。
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.
我在会议中亲历过这一现象。白天，大家在会上查阅电子邮件。然后，法国人与法国人共进晚餐，这样他们便能说法语。英国人和美国人一起用餐（往往是在抱怨法国人）。晚上11点，美国人上床睡觉，英国人去酒吧建立进一步的信任。
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.
这些交流颇有好处。苏黎世的经济学家彼得??H??埃格尔(Peter H. Egger)和安德烈娅??拉斯曼(Andrea Lassman)近期分析了81篇有关语言和国际贸易的学术论文。他们发现，同说一门语言平均能“直接将贸易流动提高44%”。而法国人和英国人恰恰交流不畅。
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.”
说到这里，照例应当敦促英国学校重新开始教授法语。但这恐怕没有帮助。在与法国人打交道时，只有接近母语水平的法语才能够带来优势。一般水平的法语毫无用处可言。如果你的法语水平平庸，倒不妨说英语，逼迫法国人迁就你。假如他发了脾气，那就温柔地笑笑，说：“我在一定程度上同意你的看法。”
