Language Nationalism in Europe

1. Language & Nationalism in Europe Ch 3 France: One state, one nation, one language?

3. France has: Large territory No official religion Shared historical consciousness Common legal/administrative system Common language

4. Some French language facts Language is seen a a pillar of the nation-state, as “cement” French became the official language in 1992, in preparation for the Maastricht treaty There are no adult monolingual speakers of regional languages in France (why is this important?) There are no official statistics on regional languages (it is illegal to gather such information, considered racist)

5. Some historical facts Q: What language did the Gauls speak?

6. Some historical facts Q: What language did the Gauls speak? A: Celtic Q: Who brought Romance (i.e., Latin that developed into French)?

7. Some historical facts Q: What language did the Gauls speak? A: Celtic Q: Who brought Romance (i.e., Latin that developed into French)? A: The Romans, in the 2nd cent CE Result: Gallo-Romance, which is Latin with a Gaulish substratum. Frankish invaders (Germanic) later (5th cent) impose Frankish superstratum

8. Nationalism – a French invention? 1790s, a post-Revolutionary idea Language and homeland give a sense of national belonging If national groups are frustrated, they may turn to terrorism, as in Corsica & Basque country

9. Traditionally recognized regional languages: Germanic: Flemish & Alsatian (NE corners) Celtic: Breton (NW corner) Non-IE: Basque (SW corner) Romance: Catalan (SE corner), Corsican

10. Regional variants that are not traditionally recognized: Occitan (large region of S. France) Franco-Provencal (mid- East) Langues d’oïl (N. France; controversial because they belong to the same group as standard French, but they do not enjoy rights/status) Arabic Various Creoles

11. Basque Modern descendant of Aquitanian Basque academy & unified orthography est. 1919 80K Basque speakers in France Basque immersion schools est. 1969, but opposed by French govt.; first recognized in 1982 and first funded in 1983 Basque straddles two states, creating conflicting loyalties

12. Basque, cont’d. “4+3=1” – a proposal to unite 4 Spanish provinces and 3 French provinces to create one Basque state ETA (Basque Fatherland & Freedom) established 1959 in Spain; French equivalent is Iparretarak Most people are against violence, but violence seems to work

13. Breton Derived from Gaulish Celtic languages A few words survive in French (chemin, mouton) and English (budget) 250K speakers Use in church helped it survive the Revolution 25% of male Breton speakers died in WWI Breton schools created in 1977, funding in 1994

14. Breton, cont’d. Most people learn it as a second language today, not as a mother tongue Former nationalist movements have aligned with Germans (WWII) or communists Little nationalist aspiration today Focus on ties with Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic

15. Dutch/Flemish Steadily shrinking in France (but spoken in neighboring Belgium) 80K speakers in France, but only 2% of children in the area can speak Flemish (all can speak French) No legal status No TV One bilingual radio station has some Flemish

16. Alsatian Germanic dialects of Alsace & Lorraine, which were part of Germany until 1918 Intense Frenchification between wars and post WWII Now declining rapidly Alsatian is spoken, but Standard German is written and taught in schools Alsace d’abord movement is very small

17. Occitan/Langues d’oc Developed from Gallo-Romance Closer to Catalan, Italian, and Spanish than to French 12-13M inhabitants, but how many use Occitan? 48% understand 28% speak 13% read 6% write

18. Occitan/Langues d’oc cont’d. Occitan has no official status Literature dates from the 11th cent 13 cent there was a crusade against them Is it one nation or two? Provence & Languedoc-Rousillon Provence literary renaissance in 19th c 1935 Grammaire occitane & orthography

19. Occitan/Langues d’oc cont’d. Between the world wars it was forbidden to speak a regional language in school Little support for political independence Occitan immersion schools are now spreading and very popular Occitan is potentially a link to the world abroad: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Catalan -- it is closer to all of these and thus affords an advantage

20. Franco-Provençal Also spoken in Italy and elsewhere Very fragmented Not taught in France No political profile in France

21. Catalan The official language of 8M people living mostly in Spain 180K speakers in France Supported in schools Intellectual revival since the 1960s Political party aims at identity, not autonomy

22. Corsican French authority resisted in Corsica Annexed by France in 1768 Until 1950s some Corsicans did not speak French 143K speakers Very strong nationalism Front de libération national corse (FLNC) is an active terrorist group

23. Regional languages -- conclusions EU opens up new trade relations -- Paris is no longer the sole center Belonging to a minority group is not incompatible with being French Regional languages have economic advantage due to links to other countries, giving them positive associations

24. Emergence of French Roman conquest of Gaul 125-124 BCE All of Gaul becomes Roman province in 51 BCE Acquisition of Latin very desirable Gaulish (Celtic) died out by end of 6th c 5th c Germanic migrations/invasions Roman Empire collapsed 476 CE

25. Emergence of French, cont’d. Conversion of Clovis, King of Franks, in 496, considered by some to be the beginning of the French nation Name “French” derives from Frankish Langues d’oc were less influenced by both Gaulish & Frankish forces Latin became the literary language and was taught in school in the langues d’oïl region

26. Emergence of French, cont’d. Some langues d’oïl are not mutually intelligible Trouble in schools -- children mix langues d’oïl with French langues d’oïl not recognized by gov’t until 1980s

27. Institutionalization of French France grew gradually 1229-1860 New territories had to accept French as administrative language, but did not have to speak it After Revolution, language was considered essential to unify state Using French would “free” people from “patois” (substandard language)

28. Institutionalization of French, cont’d. All other languages were forbidden French was considered “the perfect language”, and spread to the courts of other countries French, once considered egalitarian, became a language of repression Toubon law (1994) makes no concessions to the regional languages Officially there are no minorities, all citizens are equal, strong resistance to granting legal status to minority languages

29. Challenges to the supremacy of French Threat of English External -- English is becoming the language of diplomacy Internal -- Borrowings Protectionist linguistic policies since 1960 Each gov’t ministry has a terminological commission Since 1990 commissions have representatives from other French-speaking countries Fines for failure to use French words

30. Legal pressures Toubon law imposes use of French, rejects borrowings Toubon law is ridiculed in the press Toubon law is contrary to EU practice Gradual increase in recognition of regional languages, but Charter on Regional & Minority languages has not been ratified Position of French in the world is weakened France is trying to build positive ties to former colonies

31. Conclusions France used language to establish unity, but then there was outside pressure from English and internal resentment from minority languages Most minorities probably do not want separation, just recognition In 2000, only 2% of children were educated in a minority language