The difference between addressing friends as "les amis" or "mes amis"

When greeting a group of friends, what's the difference between: Salut les amis (Lesson 2.1) Bonqour les amis (Lesson 4.2) À la prochaine fois les amis (Lesson 7.2 Bonjour mes amis (Lesson 19.1) In each situation the speaker is talking in second person to a group of friends. In 3 of the examples the speaker uses the third person direct object (les), and in one uses the second person possessive adjective (mes). Why the difference?

Good question. From my limited exposure to conversational French, I hear "Bonjour les amis" more in an informal setting (going to someone's house, meeting at a restaurant). The one time I *thought* I detected "mes amis" was part of an introduction during a peer briefing/presentation. So I wonder if it's used more in the context of public speaking that's more *informal* (i.e. instead of greeting people with "Bonjour mesdames et messieurs !"). I'd be curious to hear a native speaker's take on this too.

Bonjour à vous deux! There is a slight difference between using "les" and "mes". Using the possessive pronoun "mes" adds a more personal touch to things but to be honest this isn't often used and does sound a bit awkward. All you have to do is translate it into English and try to imagine yourself saying this to your friends, "Hello my friends!" Sounds a bit cumbersome or unnatural doesn't it. However, if we use "salut les amis", although it may seem more distant, it actually adds a more casual, care free element to the greeting. It is the French equivalent of "hey guys". In English we often do away with the article "the" because we see it as unnecessary but in French it is very rarely dropped, and this is why I think many English-speaking foreigners find the inclusion of the article quite peculiar. Remember, each language follows a different set of rules and you should never wear your English glasses to read a French sentence. Continuez ainsi! - Keep up the good work! - Marie-Claire

Thank you. That makes sense.