My husband and I have always admired the city of Paris (we came here for our honeymoon in 1983!). We loved the city so much that we moved here permanently in 2013 from our small, quaint village of Llangrannog, Ceredignon in Wales to begin our retirement together. Upon arrival, there was something we simply couldn’t understand. We simply could not believe the sheer difference in government attitudes towards speaking other languages. Having only just moved from a country where the government was aiming to revive a minority language, we simply didn’t understand why much of the French government are anti-bilingual, if you will.
Having become very interested in the area, I stumbled across this recent article, wherein the Welsh government announced that they are aiming for the target of 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, in an intense language revival project. It is very clear that the government are doing all they can to spread awareness and encourage the teaching and learning of Welsh. I’m a fluent Welsh speaker myself, and I can safely say that I am proud to be a part of such a fabulous revival project – 86% of respondents in the 2017-18 Welsh Language Confidence and Attitudes National Survey agreed that speaking Welsh is something to be proud of.
The French government, on the other hand, display a much more hostile attitude towards the encouragement of bilingualism. Although it has one of the most linguistically diverse landscapes in Western Europe (51% of the population can speak another language in addition to their home language!), it seems that there are official laws that restrict other languages and dialects from gaining recognition.
Are there any French people on here that can provide a somewhat ‘native’ insight to these regressive laws against language?
– Delia, 67, originally from Ceredigion, now residing in Paris
Bonjour Delia!
My name is Fabien – I am a historian living and working in Marseille, at the Museum d’Historie Naturelle de Marseille. I can give you more information regarding the French language laws.
Firstly, it is fascinating that you are a part of the Welsh language revival project – I have read many articles and journal entries about this!
The French government, as you say, have a very different attitude towards language use in society. It’s true: monolingual ideologies seem to be dominating French history. If we go back to the start, we understand how French is a part of the Romance branch of the language family tree, thus a large portion of the syntax and vocabulary derives from Latin. This language was then standardised, ruling out Latin and giving French official language status.
However, it was decided that there was too much variation, leading to a new policy was set out in 1635. This policy allowed a group of people to regulate and control the French language – it’s called Académie Française (French Academy).
The Académie Française were the first people to coin and publish the first French dictionary, of which is now in its 9th edition, mainly due to the increase in science, technology and other forms of new vocabulary!
And the Académie Française still exists today.
The regressive policies that dictate a single official language as a strong marker of national identity stemmed from the establishment of the Académie Française. They wished to keep the French language pure and antique, however, language is constantly changing – take Welsh for example. Once in decline, now on the rise.
With new words being created every day – one simply cannot monitor all vocabulary. Though the Académie Française insist on approving any word that wishes to join the standard dictionary, ensuring it follows French tradition, thus rejecting an organic evolution of language.
It seems crazy, right?
In more recent years, however, France’s role in the European Union has meant a reduction in the strength of the national monolingualism policy. Even though France defines itself as a monolingual nation, the extremities displayed by establishments such as Académie Française show the lengths at which a nation will go to enforce language policies.
They just can’t let go of tradition.
I hope that I have given you a further insight to the history of French language laws! Any further questions – send me a message!
– Fabien, 45, Marseille
Merci bien, Fabien, for the thorough and excellent information!
You have opened my eyes to the past – you know what they say, every day is a school day!
– Delia, 67, originally from Ceredigion, now residing in Paris