Hundreds of years ago, the King of England, the Queen of Spain, and the Pope all had one trait in common- they spoke French. French symbolized nobility, intelligence, and refinement. Only the best of the western world could speak it properly, and it was a valued trait in all royalty. It was the lingua franca, the language of diplomacy, and the language all people had in common.
However, the French language is slowly declining in world importance, and the once dominant language is being replaced by English and Chinese in more developed countries. Its last stronghold outside of the motherland(France) is Quebec, and they are fighting a cultural war against the invasion of English.
II. Background and Former Glory of French throughout the World
French was once the dominant language in the world, but it started out as a combination of many other European tongues. The language first deviated from Celtic Gaul in 59 A.D., when the Roman legionaries invaded, bringing vulgar Latin with them (Price). According to Joseph E. Price, who is a renowned French historian, in the 5th century A.D. many “Germanic tribes from the east (the Franks) and the Vikings from the North” invaded and added their own language to the hybrid French(Price). In the Middle Ages, France was divided into many small fiefdoms, and each region had its own dialect. Eventually, kings conquered the surrounding land and a single dialect spread throughout the country, or kingdom as they were known as back then. Finally, around 770 A.D. the language we think of as French started to emerge with the French king Charlemagne, and his many conquests (as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and warrior king of France) spread it to the far reaches of his kingdom (Sullivan 4).
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...Language Laws. Quebec Office of the English
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Price, Joseph E. "Old French Language." Old French Language. N.p., 1997. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
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No matter what side of the spectrum a person may fall on, the history of the French language in Louisiana runs deep. It was introduced to this land in the eighteenth century as Europeans emigrated from France and the Acadian refugees ventured from Canada. French was Louisiana’s language. As mentioned earlier, efforts are being made to preserve the general French language and background of Louisiana ("Parlez-Vous? Some Louisiana Pupils Being Immersed in French Instruction", 2011). Louisiana currently has thirty schools that offer the French immersion program. CODOFIL is working diligently to increase the amount of schools that offer French immersion programs. It is crucial that these programs be implemented in order to maintain a unique and special characteristic of Louisiana ("Parlez-Vous? Some Louisiana Pupils Being Immersed in French Instruction").
McQuillan, Aidan. “Des chemins divergents: les Irlandais et les Canadiens francais au XIXe siècle.” ed. Wadell, Eric. “Le dialogue avec les cultures minoritaires.” Ste-Foy, QC: Les Presses De L'Université Laval 1990.
Americans throughout history often pride themselves on the unique and insular nature of their culture. Acting as if their New World is entirely free from influence by the Old World. In her book, Becoming Americans in Europe, Blower provides specific instances that seemingly contradicts that view. The thesis in Blower’s book is that Paris was a large factor in how Americans crafted their national identity. Interwoven with that thesis Blower also promotes an idea of a cycle of Americans influencing Parisians and Parisians therefore reacting differently to Americans forcing them to change.
In Seventh Grade, the main character’s internal conflict is learning French. He wants to take a French class because the girl he likes, Teresa, is taking it as well. He is always thinking about her, and wants to get to know her. Towards the end of the story, he reaches French class, and says something random in a French accent. The teacher is confused about what he said. Victor
• "French Language in Quebec and is it changing?." - Online Party of Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. .
The Francophone’s population made up twenty-five percent of Canada’s population, and they mainly resided in Quebec. The native language of Quebec was French, and their religion was focused on the Roman Catholic Churches. It was different from the other nine provinces, which had a majority of English population following Protestant Churches. For the Quebecers, they felt that their distinct cultural identities have been neglected. They felt uncomfortable about being part of a nation that refused to understand their own culture, history, and language. The possibility that one day Quebec would be dominated by English population threatened the stability of the French societies’ culture, language, and educational system. The local government be...
Parkman, Francis. A Half Century of Conflict: France and England in North America. The Floating Press, 2010.
According to Dickstein, a bilingual citizen of Quebec, this scenario is only too familiar. As a Canadian citizen, he experienced the hardships of living in a country torn by a war of language. Quebec is a largely French speaking population that wishes to break away from it's mother land Canada, mainly because of the language barriers. He feels that the U.S is now facing the beginnings of language problems similar to the ones Canada experienced.
Solt, Mary Ellen. “France.” Concrete Poetry: A World View. N.p.: Indiana University Press, 1968. Accessed 7 April 2009 < http://www.ubu.com/papers/solt/france.html>.
[7] Hunt, Lynn. Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. Berkeley: U of California, 1984. Print.
Nardo, Don. A. The French Revolution. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1999. Print.
Did you know that the guillotine was still being used when the movie Star Wars (1977) was released? Perhaps you were unaware that the French celebrate almost a dozen national holidays every year? Maybe you were uniformed that about a third to a half of basic English words are derived from French words, including but not limited to: surf, view, strive, challenge, pride, and war? As you can see from the above information, the country of France has has a long and convoluted history, during which their advanced military, culture, and holidays have developed greatly.
Giroux, Henry A. Ideology, culture & the process of schooling. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981. Print.
The Norman invasion of 1066 AD began a period of two centuries in which French was the official language of England, resulting in the introduction of many words with French or Latin roots, such as 'baron', 'justice' and 'government' (Beal, J. 2012, p. 64). English was first used in Parliament in 1362 AD and gradually displaced French (Appendix I, in Seargea...
Even though there are advantages as well as disadvantages, the need for international language for communication, politics, economics and security is necessary and English is the best “language candidate” for that function. English is a language spread all over the world and it is used by millions and millions of speakers. According to my opinion, people should use English as a tool to communicate with all cultures but every country must keep their culture and language is a great part of it. In conclusion, language defines identity of a country and everyone should keep their language and explore others.