Can a person really understand the inhabitants of a country where two people who are arguing are “getting acquainted” and where the ultimate sin is to have nothing to say? The two authors use their observations of France’s special art of conversation as a starting point to further their insights into the French language and French-speaking communities.  Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow met at McGill University, but Julie Barlow grew up in Ancaster, Ontario, while Jean-Benoît Nadeau spent his youth in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Together or individually, they have written 10 books and more than 1,000 articles and have received some thirty awards. Based in Montreal, they have also lived in Paris, Toronto and Phoenix.

*Lecture in english