My loved ones know it and have fun: I regularly pest against the abusive use of anglicisms. Beyond my family circle, on the other hand, this point of view does not always earn me friends. The most aggressive call me franchouillard, cheesy, even reactionary. Others, more subtly, remind me that English itself understands a considerable number of words of Norman and French origins (Guillaume the Conqueror obliges). These add that exchanges between idioms have always existed and conclude that borrowings represent an extraordinary way to enrich a language.
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I obviously agree with this last point … except that the current situation is of a completely different nature. As proof, these statistics that I discovered thanks to the academician and professor at the Collège de France Antoine Compagnon. They relate to the number of French term introduced in The Oxford English Dictionary In recent decades (1) and seem to me to be edifying. Judge rather:
Between 1900 and 1909, 354 French words entered this reference dictionary.
Between 1950 and 1959: 165.
Between 1980 and 1989: 35.
Between 1990 and 1999: 2.
And since 2000, will you ask me? The answer is as simple as it is brutal. Zero ! Oualou! The head in Toto!
It is an understatement to say that it is not the same in the other direction, as evidenced by an investigation carried out by my colleagues from Worldwhich studied the 514 terms introduced into the Larousse and the Robert during the 1920s to 2022. Here are the results of their investigation: out of these 514 entries, 144 were of foreign origin. And, out of these 144 loans, 115 came from English, or… 80 %! Arrived (very) far behind Japanese and Arabic (in this order), with a limited influence for the main part of the culinary field (Tataki, Chawarma, etc.). Nothing like with English, who exports his vocabulary to trade (Coffee Shop, Click and Collect, Drive), Health (cluster), ideas (woke) or social phenomena (coolness). A confirmed observation to L’Express by the director of the editorial staff of Le Robert editions, Géraldine Moinard: “Almost all the foreign words that enter our dictionary are of English origin. The rare exceptions concern gastronomy, with Spaniard espumaFor example.”
From then on, I want us to try to consider our collective mania of Anglicisms as a non-event. That is affirmed as Carine Girac-Marinier, the director of Larousse editions: “We must not offend itit is part of the dynamism of languages to exchange words. “Or, like Arnaud Hoedt and Jérôme Piron, members of linguists atterated (whose other theses convince me more):”Anglicism, by definition, is a French word or at least francized. Otherwise, it would just be an English word. Anglicism, like “spoiler” or “YouTubeur”, it is therefore a French word of English origin, as “pants” is a French word of Italian origin or “water -in -law” a French word of Persian origin. So why oppose Anglicism and French word? “
To stick to it, it seems to me, is a way of blindness. Because all linguists know this: strong languages have a natural tendency to destroy weak languages. Personally, I would not be worried if, among these 144 borrows from foreign languages, there were simply a dozen coming from English and if they were kindly neighboring with Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Wolof, Japanese, Corsican, Kanaks, Auvergne or Picards. But it is clear that the current movement goes against this jubilant bigarrure. It even leads to its exact opposite: the outrageous supremacy of a single language, that of the greatest economic, military, technological and cultural power of the moment, in other words the United States. And that I am understandable. I would also be alarmed if this process benefited Japanese, Latvian or Catalan. It is not English in itself that is involved, but standardization of which it is the vector.
Summons. When French no longer exports to English at all when it constitutes 80 %-80 %! – from our loans from foreign lexicons and 22 % of the total entrances to our dictionaries, that’s good, Ultimately, the cultural diversity which is threatened. Because we are no longer in exchange, but in domination.
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(1) Twentieth Century Borrowings from French to English. Their reception and developmentby Julia Schultz. Cambridge Scholars, 2012.
To read – on the side of the French language
Macron and Dati launch the France Music Week
Creating a big festival “bringing together music professionals” with “very large concerts” is undoubtedly a great idea. But why does Emmanuel Macron want to baptize him France Music Weekin English, especially if his goal is, as he says, to “replace France on the map of world music, even better valuing French artistic creation and the richness of its talents”? It is this question posed in writing several associations of defense of the French language to the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, who took up this expression on her own. These associations point out that Jack Lang, in 1981, launched “The Fête de la Musique” and no The Music Day, And that this did not prevent him from being copied around the world.
Should we speak French to be French?
A positive response seems obvious, and yet … this interesting file of the review Philosophy examined the linguistic requirements posed by Darmanin law towards foreigners wishing to live in France. Result: among the ten volunteers of mainly graduate French nationality who have passed the tests, five failed to obtain the average in writing and two missed the exam …
Can you replace these anglicisms with French equivalents?
“Update” instead ofupdate. “Outsourcing” instead ofOutsourcing. “Deadline” instead of deadline… Many French equivalents exist to avoid anglicisms. We find it in abundance on sites like Franceterme or theQuebec Office of the French Language. Le Figaro offers you a quiz to test your knowledge.
The sinking of French, the triumph of English
The linguist Lionel Meney documented in this work the magnitude of the actual anglicization, whether in vocabulary, syntax, diplomacy, sciences, commerce, etc. “What has been observed for several decades, he writes, is a gradual reduction in the territory of French.” A worried observation at the end of which he lists a series of possible actions.
The sinking of French, the triumph of Englishby Lionel Meney. Press of Laval University, 2024.
When Boualem Sansal defended the French language in Algeria
Boualem Sansal, arrested in Algiers on November 16, 2024, is opposed to the Arabization policy of Algeria, regretting that the French language is taught there as a foreign language in high school. This is what he entrusted to Frédéric Joignot in March 2014 during the festival Surprising travelers de Rabat (Morocco), which he attended alongside a host of French -speaking African writers.
Follow the week of the French language and the Francophonie on TV5 Monde
The week of the French language and the Francophonie takes place from March 15 to 23. You can follow it in particular on the TV5 Monde channel, which has designed a special program for this event.
To read – On the side of minority languages
The Brittany Press Agency (ABP) has exposed Chatgpt to analyze the decision of the Constitutional Council having resulted in the non-compatibility of the European Charter of Regional and Minority Languages with our Constitution. If these results must be observed with prudence, it should be noted, however, that the tool calls into question its interpretation of article 2: “The language of the Republic is French.” “The Council concluded that any official recognition of another language in the public sphere was unconstitutional”, writes Chatgpt, before adding: “However, the Charter does not question French as the main language, but only encourages the use and protection of minority languages in certain areas (teaching, culture, local administration).” Not so badly seen …
Tribute to the Alsatian writer André Weckmann
The notoriety of the writer André Weckmann is very weak in France. It is however considered one of the greatest French authors of the 20th century. But he committed “the error” to create his work as an Alsatian, which earned him the indifference of the national media. The centenary of his birth is an opportunity for (re?)-Discover.
Teaching Breton: two associations attack the State in justice
Faced with what they consider as a blockage of the government in the application of the State-Region Convention on the transmission of the Breton language, the associations Div Yezh Breizh and Kelennump! have filed an appeal to the Rennes administrative court.
Occitan: celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Cirdoc
In 1975, the writer Max Rouquette managed to convince the municipality of Béziers to create an “Occitan National Library”. The fiftieth anniversary of this institution, which has now become the CIRDOC (International Center for Occitan Research and Documentation), will be celebrated on site during a festive evening on March 21.
The room “Talk sharp“In the city of Villers-Cotterêts
Sign of a real opening, the excellent show Talk sharp Will be given within the International City of the French language of Villers-Cotterêts this March 28 at 8 p.m. This play by Benjamin Tholozan and Hélène François moving in a moving way the discrimination linked to regional accents.
Listen
French and Algeria, by Mathieu Avanzi
In this program of France Inter, the linguist Mathieu Avanzi returns to the relationship between the French language and Algeria, nourished both by colonization, immigration and the return of the black feet. A Frenchman who was enriched in contact with Arabic and Berber, of course, but who also rubbed shoulders with the Spanish, the Italian and the regional languages brought by the colonists.
To look
Free Las Cerèras Timeby the evil
Rojas (Reds): This is the title of the last album of the Occitan Polyphonies Group The Evil Hairsty. Reds, they write, as are “languages dominated like ours, which nevertheless flambé and open consciences”. Illustration with this title Free Las Cerèras Time (He shudder the time of cherries).
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