Foreigners

Quotations about Foreigners

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Using Quotations in a Speech or Text about Foreigners

As well as keeping your audience engaged, adding quotations to a speech or a text can significantly enhance its impact and effectiveness. Quotations are useful for explaining complex ideas concisely, much in the same way that analogies are used. Additionally, quotations from experts or celebrities can add credibility to your message.

Here are some funny and poignant quotations about foreigners. If your speech is serious, do not automatically avoid funny quotations as they can often be the most impactful, forcing your audience into the thinking about the hidden analogous message in your selected quotation.

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." (British actor Peter Ustinov)
"When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth." (Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw)

If you are looking to make a fuller speech about foreigners, then below this selection of quotations are three funny themes and three serious themes on the topic of foreigners that might help trigger some ideas for your speech or text.

"The best thing I know between France and England is the sea." Douglas Jerrold (English dramatist and journalist, 1803-57)

"Germany is so perfectly situated that the most desirable neighbors are next door." Mark Twain (American writer, 1835-1910)

"The trouble with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur." George W. Bush (American Republican statesman, 1946-)

"In Italy for 30 years, they had warfare, murder, and bloodshed. They produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had 500 years of democracy and peace. What did that produce? The cuckoo clock." Orson Welles (American actor, 1915-85)

You can't run a world-class winery with people who've learned to make wine *by drinking it.*from the Germans.*from their mothers.* Gianfranco Soldera (Italian winemaker, 1937-2019)

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion." Norman Schwartzkopf (American general, 1934-2012)

How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six *different kinds of cheese?*counties?*castles?* Charles de Gaulle (French soldier and statesman, 1890-1970)

I love Italians. They are so passionate and *heartless.*fanatical about pizza.*funny.* Sir Derek Jacobi (English actor, 1938-)

"When God finished the world, he saw it was perfect. So, to have something to laugh at, he created the French." Friedrich Hebbel (German poet, 1813-1863)

"The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers." Dave Barry (American author, 1947-)

"We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God." Dwight L. Moody (American publisher, 1837-1899)

"I just love the French. They *taste*don't*smell* like chicken!" Hannibal Lecter (fictional cannibal doctor created by the novelist Thomas Harris)

"The whole of Italy is a vast museum of very dangerous hat-stands." Edith Wharton (American novelist, 1862-1937)

"Frenchmen have an unlimited capacity for gallantry and indulge it on every occasion." Moliere (French playwright, 1622-1673)

"Germany is a country where the supermarkets have a wider variety of sausages than the zoos do of animals." anonymous

"In Paris, they simply stared when I spoke to them in French; I never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language." Mark Twain (American writer, 1835-1910)

"The nice thing about being a celebrity is that if you bore people they think it's their fault." Henry Kissinger (American politician, 1923-)

"The French are true romantics. They feel the only difference between a man of forty and one of seventy is thirty years of experience." Maurice Chevalier (French actor, 1888-1972)

"I asked my Italian barber if Italy would win the World Cup. He said 'Before or after lunch?'" Spike Milligan (Irish comedian, 1918-2002)

"I adore Germany. Apart from the sausages, which are really annoying." Paul McCartney (English pop singer and songwriter, 1942-)

"I design coastlines. I got an award for Norway." Douglas Adams (English science fiction writer, 1952-2001)

"When it comes to cliches, the Germans are extremely diligent, efficient and disciplined about living up to them." Rainer Erlinger (German physician and lawyer, 1965-)

"It's like the Beatles coming together again - let's hope they don't go on a world tour." Matt Frei (British journalist, 1963-) on the reunification of Germany

"I find it hard to say, because when I was there it seemed to be shut." Clement Freud (English politician, 1924-2009) on being asked about New Zealand

"Miles of cornfields, and ballet in the evening." Alan Hackney (English novelist, 1924-2009) talking about Russia

"There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch." Mike Myers (Canadian actor, 1963-)

"England and America are two countries divided by a common language." George Bernard Shaw (Irish dramatist, 1856-1950)

"I don't like Norwegians at all. The sun never sets, the bar never opens, and the whole country smells of kippers." Evelyn Waugh (English novelist, 1903-66)

"I don't like Switzerland: it has produced nothing but theologians and waiters." Oscar Wilde (Irish dramatist and poet, 1854-1900)

Thinking Template for a Speech or Text on Foreigners

Below are 3 funny themes and 3 serious themes related to foreigners. These have been included to help you identify areas to explore.

Funny Themes:

Lost in Translation: Hilarious Misunderstandings Abroad
- Share amusing stories of cultural and language misunderstandings that occur when traveling abroad, highlighting the humorous side of being a foreigner in a new country.
Funny Cultural Blunders: When Customs Clash
- Highlight some of the funniest cultural blunders foreigners have made, showcasing the sometimes comical results of navigating different customs and traditions.
Quirky Travel Experiences: The Funniest Adventures Abroad
- Explore humorous anecdotes from travel experiences, emphasizing the unexpected and funny moments that make traveling as a foreigner memorable.

Serious Themes:

The Importance of Cultural Exchange: Learning from Foreigners
- Discuss the value of cultural exchange and how interacting with foreigners can broaden perspectives, foster understanding, and enrich our lives.
Challenges Faced by Foreigners: Navigating a New Environment
- Address the challenges that foreigners often face, such as language barriers, cultural adaptation, and homesickness, and discuss ways to support and integrate them into the community.
Celebrating Diversity: The Positive Impact of Foreign Cultures
- Explore the positive impact that foreign cultures can have on a society, emphasizing the importance of diversity and inclusion in creating vibrant, dynamic communities.

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