Making friends at office party: Finding common ground and following the thread

💬 [Je m'appelle] literally uses [appelle] with [me]: French says something like "I call myself." Before another vowel sound, [me] becomes [m'], which is why you get [m'appelle].

💬 [C'] in [c'est] only appears joined to the next word; it cannot stand alone. You'll see the same fixed chunk in many introductions: [C'est Claire], [C'est normal], [C'est vrai].

💬 [Moi, c'est Claire] is a very common spoken way to introduce yourself, alongside [Je m'appelle Claire]. It is more like "Me, I'm Claire" than a word-for-word [I am Claire].

💬 [Parmi] means "among" and is followed directly by a group word: [parmi nous], [parmi vous], [parmi mes collègues]. No extra word is needed before [nous].

🇫🇷 [Bienvenue parmi nous] is warmer and more personal than a plain [Bienvenue]. At work it sounds like "welcome to the team," not overly formal.

💬 French often uses [dans] for being in a department: [travailler dans quel service ?], [être dans le marketing], [être dans les ventes]. [Quel] changes with the noun, so compare [quel service] and [quelle équipe].

🇫🇷 [Et toi ?] is a very normal way to bounce the question back in casual conversation. At a work party, it keeps things friendly without sounding too intense.