We're Litote Masters!

I had completely forgotten about litote as a term! I love that word. It's a figure of speech in French where we say less to mean more, a form of understatement. We're litote masters!

There's also something very French about the modesty and restraint behind it, or so it seems to me: you don't quite say what you mean, you let the other person understand it. Which may also explain why I'm so allergic to superlatives. 🫥 That restraint can be quite annoying, admittedly, and can come across as hypocritical to an outsider.

In French, "c'est pas mal" ("it's not bad") often means "it's actually quite good," and "il ne fait pas chaud" ("it's not warm") can mean "it's very cold." Saying "absolutely amazing" is often perceived as excessive, at least from where I stand.

I do use some superlatives in English, though, partly because I've adapted to the language and its cultural norms, also to fit in (I guess). But I rarely use them in French, and it would probably raise a few eyebrows. 😄 The contrast with contemporary American English is rather amusing, in my experience, where "amazing, incredible, awesome, absolutely wonderful!" seem to be almost part of everyday vocabulary. (Old New England reserve is its own story, closer to litote than to hype.) Meanwhile, the French are quietly saying, "oui, c'est intéressant…"

Funny enough, that phrase doesn't even travel well. In French, "c'est intéressant" is often just a placeholder, a way of saying "let me think about that" without committing to an opinion. In English, "that's interesting" tends to do the opposite work: it's the polite way of saying nothing at all, a soft signal for "I have nothing to add" or "I'd rather not say what I really think." Same words, same shrug of a phrase, but pointing in almost opposite directions.

Cultural differences are not to be underestimated, even in the smallest phrases.