i spent three weeks in france, in '97 and noticed something i found a little peculiar, their stop signs said ‘stop’ not ‘arrête.’
i live in canada, and some of our stop signs say both, stop and arrête… and that makes sense with quebec and all, but why just ‘stop’ in france?
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
I suppose the French have figured that there are enough drivers from other countries driving through that their traffic signs should be standardized, at least the most important ones (which a stop sign is).
Canada has a far more precarious bilingual situation.
i would understand that if they only had the ‘stop’ stop signs in the busier parts of france, but they had them everywhere. including the smallest towns that no tourist would be likely to visit… and also, why in english? of all the tourists i ran into while i was there, the majority of them spoke no english at all.
They got 'em wholesale?
Maybe with the opening of the Chunnel, they thought they’d have lots of silly English-type persons driving around the countryside wondering what “arrete” means.
Didn’t notice this myself while in France last year, but I didn’t drive, so what do I know?
But I do have a WAG. By putting the signs in English, the French can simultaneously confuse the invading Germans and assist the liberating Americans. < g >
Livin’ on Tums, Vitamin E and Rogaine
i probably wouldn’t have noticed it either if the family i was staying with didn’t say ‘stop’ at every sign they came to. 
but after i saw it once, i saw it everywhere…
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
i probably wouldn’t have noticed it either if the family i was staying with didn’t say ‘stop’ at every sign they came to. but after i saw it once, i saw it everywhere…
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
the roo and friends were so arrested by the sight that they stopped twice! Hah! i’m one to talk,just ask Nick. Mrs mr john says it was the same way in japan. Wrer the signs red and hexagonal too? My son says he saw round stop signs in some parts of europe.
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
It would seem to me that there are certain things when driving, such as stop signs and traffic lights, which have to be standardized for the benefit of drivers in other countries. I don’t mean tourists, I mean truckers and other distance-travelers. Think of how horrible it would be to come into a new country and suddenly not understand any of the signs! So, signs in other countries are either standardized with the rest of the world (such as stop signs) or are made in such a way that it is clear to anyone with a basic understanding of number and symbols what they have to do in order not to violate traffic law.
well, red octagon’s? yes, they all were.
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
i agree about a standardized sign, but that’s what i thought the red octagon was all about. but i guess not if mr. john’s son saw circle ones…
“human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust; we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.” - albert einstein
It is interesting in light of the French paranoia about the English language.
What are stop signs like in Germany, Italy, Spain, etc.?
All of the countries in the former European Communtiy (now EU with a few new members) agreed to adopt standardized traffic signs quite some time ago.
Imagine driving from Ohio into Indiana and all the traffic signs are different. From where we lived while assigned in Germany, in about 4-6 hours, we could be in Czech, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, or the Netherlands.
As to why the signs in Quebec are bilingual, while those in France are not, I suspect that’s due to stubborness - I understand language dominance is a thorny issue there.
Sue from El Paso
Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
i just found this link that has some pictures of stop signs from around the world. they’re all the standardized shape and colour, but the languages do vary. and since they’re all the red octagon we all know and love, it still doesn’t make any sense to me. it’s just, why when we all know what the sign means don’t they just write it in french?
the link is http://www.geog.okstate.edu/users/lightfoot/stop/stop.htm
sorry about that, there was a hex on me. It was over ten years ago when he was over there and he was in some Eastern European countries, when there was still a wall. maybe the round signs were on the other side of the wall and also had concentric circles on them.
“Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.”-Marx
That site that mega cited also contains this sight: http://www.geog.okstate.edu/users/lightfoot/stop/stop14.htm
Which says
So there you have it
I’m wondering what mr john was drinking while driving when he ever saw a hexagonal stop sign anyhow? I’ve never seen one. I seem to recall seeing yellow hexagonal stop signs years ago, I think in the back woods of Oregon or Mexico or somewhere. I’ve seen unofficial round red stop signs at private intersections.
Ray (never stops)
Now you have me doing it! I mean, of course, yellow octagonal stop signs.
Ray (outta shape)
i have seen a stop sign that was so faded (from the sun perhaps?) what it was yellowish. maybe you saw something similar.
what is essential is invisible to the eye -the fox
I’m originally from Quebec. For many years, both STOP and ARRET were printed and cohabited without too much fuss on the same octagonal sign. Time passing and (some) mentalities evolving in a particular direction, there were many instances (especially in major cities like Montreal and Quebec City) where the word STOP was spray painted to give a more unilingual feel to the environment…
That being said, it boggles the mind why the red octagonal sign without any wording whatsoever has not been universally adopted decades ago; there are several other international signs, the meaning of which is self-explanatory (although I recognize that this practice is much more prevalent parts other than North America - and more specifically Canada and the U.S.).