|
|
Article: How the French became frogs: English caricature and a national stereotype.
- Article from:
- Apollo
- Article date:
- August 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Apollo Magazine Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Some years ago the London Institut Francais, a French government body, put out an elegant and witty poster to advertise French language courses at all levels from beginners to advanced students (Fig. 1). It pictures the development of a frog in stages from egg through tadpole to full maturity. The humour--unmistakeable to any British person--lay in its highlighting of the age-old identification of the French as frogs, and it was given a further level of irony through its use by a French organisation.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
That such a motif could register its meaning clearly without verbal explanation confirms the familiarity of the stereotype. The ...