cover next page > title: Identity, Insecurity and Image : France and Language Multilingual Matters (Series) ; 112 author: Ager, D. E. publisher: Multilingual Matters isbn10 | asin: 1853594431 print isbn13: 9781853594434 ebook isbn13: 9780585156101 language: English subject France--Civilization--20th century, Language policy-- France, Language and culture--France, Civilization, Modern- -French influences, French language--Political aspects-- Foreign countries, Symbolism. publication date: 1999 lcc: DC33.7.A64 1999eb ddc: 306.44/944 subject: France--Civilization--20th century, Language policy-- France, Language and culture--France, Civilization, Modern- -French influences, French language--Political aspects-- Foreign countries, Symbolism. cover next page > < previous page page_i next page > Page i Identity, Insecurity and Image: France and Language < previous page page_i next page > < previous page page_ii next page > Page ii MULTILINGUAL MATTERS SERIES Series Editor Professor John Edwards, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada Other Books in the Series Beyond Bilingualism: Multilingualism and Multilingual Education JASONE CENOZ and FRED GENESEE (eds) Language Attitudes in Sub-Saharan Africa EFUROSIBINA ADEGBIJA Language, Ethnicity and Education PETER BROEDER and GUUS EXTRA Language Planning: From Practice to Theory ROBERT B. KAPLAN and RICHARD, B. BALDAUF Jr. Language Reclamation HUBISI NWENMELY Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe CHRISTINA BRATT PAULSTON and DONALD PECKHAM (eds) Quebec's Aboriginal Languages JACQUES MAURAIS (ed.) The Step-Tongue: Children's English in Singapore ANTHEA FRASER GUPTA Three GenerationsTwo LanguagesOne Family LI WEI Other Books of Interest Chtimi: The Urban Vernaculars of Northern France TIMOTHY POOLEY Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism COLIN BAKER and SYLVIA PRYS JONES 'Francophonie' in the 1990s: Problems and Opportunities DENNIS AGER Language, Culture and Communication in Contemporary Europe CHARLOTTE HOFFMANN (ed.) Languages in Contact and Conflict SUE WRIGHT (ed.) A Reader in French Sociolinguistics MALCOLM OFFORD (ed.) Please contact us for the latest book information: Multilingual Matters, Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, Victoria Road, Clevedon, BS21 7HH, England http://www.multilingual-matters.com" < previous page page_ii next page > < previous page page_iii next page > Page iii Identity, Insecurity and Image: France and Language Dennis Ager MULTLINGUAL MATTERS 112 Series Editor: John Edwards MULTILINGUAL MATTERS LTD Clevedon · Philadelphia · Toronto · Sydney < previous page page_iii next page > < previous page page_iv next page > Page iv Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Ager, D.E. Identity, Insecurity and Image: France and Language/Dennis Ager Multilingual Matters: 112 Includes bibliographical references and index 1. FranceCivilization-20th century. 2. Language policyFrance. 3. Language and cultureFrance. 4. Civilization, ModernFrench influences. 5. French languagePolitical aspectsForeign countries. 6. Symbolism. I. Title. II. Series: Multilingual Matters (Series): 112. DC33.7.A64 1999 306.44'944-dc21 98-31849 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1-85359-443-1 (hbk) ISBN 1-85359-442-3 (pbk) Multilingual Matters Ltd UK: Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, Victoria Road, Clevedon BS21 7HH. USA: 325 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA. Canada: 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario M3H 5T8, Canada. Australia: P.O. Box 586, Artamon, NSW, Australia. Copyright © 1999 Dennis Ager All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed and bound in Great Britain by WBC Book Manufacturers Ltd. < previous page page_iv next page > < previous page page_v next page > Page v CONTENTS Figures vi Tables and maps vii Acknowledgements viii Preface ix Introduction 1 Part 1: Insecurity 1 Territorial insecurity: fear of the regional languages 15 2 Fear mixed with pride: the myth of the hexagon 42 3 Social insecurity: fear of the social outsider 63 4 Fear mixed with guilt: the myth of inclusion 86 5 Americanophobia: fear of Franglais 98 Part 2: Identity 6 Identity and the status of French: the language of the Republic 116 7 Managing French to serve the state: stability, elasticity and polyvalency 145 Part 3: Image 8 Gaining influence and prestige: Francophonie, cultural relations and French abroad 165 9 Multilingualism: a policy for openness and diversity? 191 Conclusion 206 Notes 223 References 242 Index 249 < previous page page_v next page > < previous page page_vi next page > Page vi FIGURES Figure 1.1 Grégoire's proposals for improving French 27 Figure 1.2 Regional languages in education 37 Figure 1.3 The state and regional languages 39 Figure 1.4 Fishman's scale of Graded Intergenerational Disruption 40 Figure 2.1 The myth of the hexagon 43 Figure 2.2 French regionalism 58 Figure 3.1 Tests of inclusion 64 Figure 4.1 Threats to French 93 Figure 5.1 Etiemble's recommendations for action on language 100 Figure 5.2 The ideology of English 104 Figure 5.3 Druon and pride in French 109 Figure 6.1 La France profonde 123 Figure 6.2 The ideology of the Front National 124 Figure 6.3 French as official language 131 Figure 6.4 The Toubon Act 134 Figure 7.1 Types of purism 146 Figure 7.2 Associations defending French 151 Figure 8.1 The aims of French language policy 165 Figure 8.2 For and against the French educational system 170 Figure 8.3 Continuing neo-colonialism 171 Figure 8.4 French in the EU institutions 180 Figure 8.5 1998 instructions to civil servants 182 Figure 8.6 Chirac's guiding principles for Francophonie 186 Figure 8.7 Members of Francophonie in 1998 188 Figure 9.1 The 1994 global plan for languages 198 < previous page page_vii next page > Page vii TABLES AND MAPS Table Intro.1 Presidents and the National Assembly 1974-1997 4 Map 1.1 France: the linguistic regions 16 Table 1.1 Maintenance of dialects in Alsace 36 Table 2.1 Administrative and cultural regions 48 Map 2.1 Administrative and cultural regions 49 Table 2.2 Violence and explosions in Corsica and France 61 Table 3.1 Success in formal examinations 79 Table 4.1 Confidence in the social institutions 95 Table 4.2 Justifying anti-social actions 96 Table 5.1 The image of French 110 Table 8.1 Exports of French books 169 Map 8.1 Francophonie 187 Table 9.1 Secondary school enrolments in foreign languages 201 Table Conc.1 Opinions on French nationality 217 < previous page page_vii next page > < previous page page_viii next page > Page viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements are due to a number of people and organisations. Information, ideas and opinions necessarily come from reading, listening and talking to other people and from general observation. It is impossible to identify exactly the source of many of the opinions and ideas expressed here. Much of this book was developed in Aston University, and many generations of colleagues and students have contributed. Sabbatical periods in Monash and Macquarie Universities in Australia, visits and consultations in Paris, New Caledonia, Tahiti, London and Warwick have enabled the collection of material. The Délégation Générale à la Langue Française, and its documentalist Josseline Bruchet, have been particularly helpful. Anonymous readers have made useful suggestions. I am particularly indebted to Annis Ager for invaluable help in many ways, including the exchange of ideas, proof-reading and checking references and notes. Any errors or omissions remaining are the responsibility of the author. All translations have been made by the author except where indicated. < previous page page_viii next page > < previous page page_ix next page > Page ix PREFACE It is now nearly five hundred years since the French state and French governments made the first official pronouncements on the French language. Since then, government after government has declared the language a symbol of the state, insisted it alone be used as the means of education, fostered its development and controlled its use. But the 1994 Toubon Act on the use of French provoked much debate in France about the purpose of such language planning in a contemporary democracy. Did governments have the right to try to control language use? What was the real motive of its supporters: a purist attempt to keep French unsullied, or a simple fear of American imports? Was the very concept of protecting French a denial of the human rights of the Bretons, the Corsicans or the immigrants living in France? Was the law racist? Would it work? If this was an example of Right-wing xenophobia, how was it possible for a guide to the European institutions published by the Socialist government in 1998 to be equally protective? How could both Left and Right try to insist that French civil servants use French in international meetings at home or abroad, whether or not translation was provided, and whether or not the meeting was formal or informal? Are French governments supported by public opinion in such matters? Why do the French try so hard to protect their language, when it is in no danger of disappearance, is used in all the continents and, after English, is learnt by more people than any other European language? Why do they think that language is so important, and why do they agree that it is government's role to interfere in language matters? This book aims to explore the reasons for the language policies of the French state. It looks for their origins and purposes, and their areas of application. It covers policies aimed at ensuring and maintaining the status and prestige of French, in France and abroad; policies towards other languages used in France, the regional and community languages; < previous page page_ix next page >