Language, the Gateway to Culture

Learning French has been rewarding in more ways than one. I hope all that learning strange (strange, as in ‘stranger’, not ‘weird’) words with strange accents (which I getting to like more and more) is activating the right side of my brain – not that I see any major breakthrough. But more than that, there are these tiny cultural aspects that I get to know in the process that makes language learning so much fun..

Take this for instance. When do you eat your salads? Before the main course! Of course you do. In Indian restaurants, they place a platter of raw onions even before you order for food. And if you order, salad will be served before the food. I eat my salad before, during and after the meal, depending on how much is served. Eating salad before food might be good for dieting, but, if you think about it, you get to eat less of what you actually like, the main course. By that logic some may demand the desserts first. But I am digressing. Back to the cultural point…

In France, traditionally, the order of food is as follows: appetizers/starters (les hors d'oeuvre [hear]/ les entrées [hear]), main course (le plat principal [hear]), lettuce (la laitue [hear]), cheese (le fromage [hear]) and/or desserts (les desserts [hear]). It is almost like lettuce is used to wipe off the traces of the main dish before gorging on the desserts.