‘The Future of the French Language is Now in Africa’
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 04.26.10 | 2:53 PM ET
The New York Times has a fascinating piece on the globalization of French as a language—and, as the language diverges from its home nation, what that means for French culture. Michael Kimmelman outlines the battle between France’s cultural traditionalists and the immigrants and foreign French speakers who have adopted the language, but not necessarily the culture that has historically come with it. He writes:
French is now spoken mostly by people who aren’t French. More than 50 percent of them are African. French speakers are more likely to be Haitians and Canadians, Algerians and Senegalese, immigrants from Africa and Southeast Asia and the Caribbean who have settled in France, bringing their native cultures with them.
Which raises the question: So what does French culture signify these days when there are some 200 million French speakers in the world but only 65 million are actually French? Culture in general—and not just French culture—has become increasingly unfixed, unstable, fragmentary and elective.
Having grown up in a bilingual school system, a ten-minute drive from the Ontario-Quebec border, I’m plenty familiar with the dilemma. I can remember, at about eleven, being told firmly by my French teacher that Frenglish was “an insult” to both languages it drew on; even then, I thought that seemed limiting.
Seeing cultural and linguistic fusion as offensive is a non-starter in this globalized world of ours. There’s some amazing food, literature and music coming out of this sort of cultural cross-fertilization, around the world. Rather than viewing themselves as “under siege,” France’s cultural authorities might be better off getting out there and seeing some of it.
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pete 04.27.10 | 6:42 AM ET
I wonder if there is as much difference in French accents as there is the English and Spanish ones?
Cheap Travel News 04.27.10 | 12:35 PM ET
Yes there is a lot of difference,Spanish sounds very dull than english.
Cheap Travel News
Laura 04.27.10 | 1:55 PM ET
I agree that we should embrace these blendings of culture and language that are occurring. Whether we want them or not, they are happening, so why not enjoy it and see what new and beautiful things are created?
BookingTeam 04.29.10 | 7:03 AM ET
I like french language!
Europe Travel Planning 05.30.10 | 6:03 PM ET
Globalization is happening on so many levels and language is just one example. It’s fascinating to see how cultures are merging and yet still keeping their individuality. It’s part of what makes every region unique.