The Cultural Content of Business French Texts.

Abstract

the Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris. It is not sufficient, however, for these goals merely to imply cultural knowledge. Culture should be a part of the business French course. Although the command of a business vocabulary and the ability to communicate in familiar business situations are essential objectives, it is also important to know patterns of living and to experience and react to the world of the target country (Omaggio 359). Cultural items-French geography, table manners, the postal system, and telephone-are then relevant to the business student because they place the above goals in context. But to what extent is culture emphasized? How is it taught? Which aspects of culture are covered? By analyzing the cultural content of twelve business French texts, this article addresses how culture is presented in the commercial French course. The Appendix at the end identifies the level of each text and summarizes its cultural content. To examine the cultural content of the textbooks, we identified three distinct levels of culture: economic or basic-level culture, socio-economic or culture, and patterns of living or third-level culture. These three levels show a progression from a narrow or basic range of purely business topics to a broader more encompassing coverage of everyday culture not directly related to the business world. Some business French textbooks address all three levels while others do not. The most commonly covered is economic or basic level culture regarding such business topics as the stock market, the balance of payments, tax structure, the categorization of companies, business letters, banking, tariffs, billing, and insurance. This basic level culture is primarily introduced through dialogues and readings. In addition, many texts pay considerable attention to socio-economic or second-level culture, covering topics that are people- and business-oriented, among them marketing, advertising, postal service, transportation, political parties, social classes, education, media, and consumer spending.

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