Linguistic Diversity in France
“La langue de la République est le français.” Article 2 of the French Constitution, revised as recently as 1992, leaves no room for misinterpretation. France is not known as a multilingual nation, nor one with a well known multilingual history. However:
The apparent linguistic unity of France hides a rather different reality of considerable linguistic diversity. (Laroussi and Marcellesi 1995, 85)
The country’s monolingual facade hides a multitude of regional languages, whose speakers have faced chastisement and suppression for centuries. An enormous amount of conscious manipulation by the powers that have governed France through the ages has led to the complex linguistic situation that can be found in France today. This essay will present an overview of the historical events which have led to France’s present day linguistic situation paying particular attention to the country’s regional languages and their status. Breton and Basque will be the two regional languages focused on.
French, the “sole” language of the French Republic, is certainly one of the country’s most powerful and influential assets. France has exported the French language all over the world, resulting in between seventy million and one hundred and ten million native speakers and twenty-nine countries using it as their official language today. However before founding this global platform, French had to establish itself within its own country, a process far more complicated than one might think.
When the Romans began extending the frontiers of their empire to Gaul, an area which incorporates modern day France, Belgium, Germany as far as the Rhine and Switzerland from lake Geneva to lake Constance (see Lodge 1993, 39) they encountered a high level of linguistic variety. A mixture of Greek, pre-Indo-European and Celtic languages as well as many other languages that linguists have little knowledge of to this day could be found. As the Romans took control of this area from the second century BC,
The apparent linguistic unity of France hides a rather different reality of considerable linguistic diversity. (Laroussi and Marcellesi 1995, 85)
The country’s monolingual facade hides a multitude of regional languages, whose speakers have faced chastisement and suppression for centuries. An enormous amount of conscious manipulation by the powers that have governed France through the ages has led to the complex linguistic situation that can be found in France today. This essay will present an overview of the historical events which have led to France’s present day linguistic situation paying particular attention to the country’s regional languages and their status. Breton and Basque will be the two regional languages focused on.
French, the “sole” language of the French Republic, is certainly one of the country’s most powerful and influential assets. France has exported the French language all over the world, resulting in between seventy million and one hundred and ten million native speakers and twenty-nine countries using it as their official language today. However before founding this global platform, French had to establish itself within its own country, a process far more complicated than one might think.
When the Romans began extending the frontiers of their empire to Gaul, an area which incorporates modern day France, Belgium, Germany as far as the Rhine and Switzerland from lake Geneva to lake Constance (see Lodge 1993, 39) they encountered a high level of linguistic variety. A mixture of Greek, pre-Indo-European and Celtic languages as well as many other languages that linguists have little knowledge of to this day could be found. As the Romans took control of this area from the second century BC,
Bibliography: “Constitution de la République française” in Assemblée national [http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/connaissance/constitution.asp] (accessed 19th March 2012) Davidson J.P Hagège C. 1996. Le français, histoire d’un combat, Boulogne-Billancourt: Éditions Michel Hagège Hooper J Judge A. 1993. “French: a planned language?” in Sanders C. (ed) 1993. French Today: Language in its Social Context, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Kinsella C Laroussi F., and Marcellesi J.B. 1993. “The other languages of France: towards a multilingual policy” in Sanders C. (ed) 1993. French Today: Language in its Social Context, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Lodge R Luxardo H. 2000. L 'Abbé Grégoire en guerre contre les "Patois"(1790-1794) [http://brezhoneg.gwalarn.org/istor/gregoire.html] (accessed 19th March 2012) Oakes L Rickard P. 1974. A History of the French Language, London: Hutchinson and Co Wartburg W.V