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Let’s start this article with a question. What would you think of a government which would proclaim its desire to reduce road insecurity and which, at the same time, would authorize drink-driving and abolish speed limits? You would probably accuse him of incompetence or hypocrisy and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong.
The relationship with this newsletter, will you tell me? Here it is: the same contradiction can be observed with regard to regional languages. Officially, France intends to preserve them. In fact, it multiplies the decisions going in the opposite direction. This is how, on March 9, the administrative court of Bastia, seized by the prefect, canceled a provision of the rules of procedure of the Assembly of Corsica which provided for the possibility of using the historical language of the island during the debates (1). A decision that poses a problem of law and a problem of substance.
Let’s start with the law. Certainly, this judgment was expected. Indeed, the elected islanders did not specify in their regulations that the remarks made in the hemicycle had to be systematically translated into French (2). Their lawyer did try to maintain that the use of Corsican was not binding, but that was not enough. Referring to a famous paragraph of article 2 of the Constitution – “The language of the Republic is French” – the administrative court of Bastia canceled the offending device in stride. “This decision was completely foreseeable, underlines the constitutionalist Véronique Bertile, specialist in this subject (3). The judges were content to apply the restrictive case law of the Constitutional Council and the Council of State, according to which Article 2 of the Constitution imposes the use of French on legal persons governed by public law.”
An article intended to fight only against… English
The legal analysis seems closed? This is not the case. Because it must be remembered that this paragraph was added to the Basic Law in 1992 with a specific aim: to fight against… English, and only it. 1992 is indeed the year of the Treaty of Maastricht and the abandonment by France of its monetary sovereignty. A major act which had worried the parliamentarians: weren’t we opening the door a little wider to the language of Shakespeare, omnipresent on the financial markets? So they had wanted to erect a solid barrier against this increasingly pervasive idiom by revising the Constitution.
But – and this is the fundamental point – they had placed an imperative condition: this article should never be used against the languages of France! With others, the Alsatian centrist Adrien Zeller had thus declared: “I would like to hear the Keeper of the Seals assure us that this precision will not harm the regional languages.” And he had solemnly reassured them: “No attack will be made on politics and respect for the diversity of our regional cultures.” Before adding: “French is the language of the Republic and not the only language of the Republic.” Difficult to be clearer.
Difficult to be clearer? Not for the Constitutional Council, apparently, which for thirty years has not ceased to refer to this formula in order to… oppose all measures in favor of minority languages in our country, thereby contradicting the will of the Constituent. “In this area, the Council does not follow a legal reasoning. It has an ideological, even dogmatic approach”, resumes Véronique Bertile. Which, in fact, makes it possible to challenge the relevance of the judgment of the Bastia court.
Now let’s get to the bottom. Officially our country considers its regional languages as a wealth. “The languages of France are a national treasure, wrote Emmanuel Macron in 2021. The law should liberate, never suffocate […]. The same color, the same accents, the same words: this is not our nation. Braudel writes: “France is called diversity.” “A magnificent declaration that we would gladly applaud with both hands… if it were accompanied by a coherent policy. And that’s where the shoe pinches.
A language does not only live on love and fresh water
All linguists know it: a language does not only live on love and fresh water. To develop, it must have a significant place in education, administration, business but also in political life, as is the case in other European democracies. In Wales, English and Welsh are thus placed on an equal footing in the public sector. In Trentino-Alto Adige (northern Italy), a citizen can plead in German before the courts. In Greenland, Greenlandic is the official language… And we could multiply the examples.
To say that we are not there is an understatement. Not only does our country not take equivalent measures, but it systematically opposes devices of this type, as the administrative court of Bastia has just done. “How long do we think that French would live, in Quebec as in Paris, if it were absent from school, from the media and from public life, returned to the sole private sphere? Why demand regional languages? that they survive in objectively impossible conditions?” asks the linguist Patrick Sauzet.
Let’s get along well. One can perfectly consider that it is necessary to ban Corsican, Occitan, Breton, and Martinican Creole from local assemblies, but, in this case, one must be intellectually honest and admit that, in doing so, one decides to make disappear these languages present on our soil for more than a thousand years. On the other hand, if, as we officially claim, we wish to preserve our cultural diversity, we must take the necessary measures. Starting with modifying the Basic Law in order to circumvent the abusive lock put in place by the Constitutional Council.
This is good: Emmanuel Macron is currently preparing a reform of the institutions. We will therefore know very quickly if the president intends to match his words and his actions. Or if he should be accused of incompetence and hypocrisy.
FIND VIDEOS DEDICATED TO FRENCH AND THE LANGUAGES OF FRANCE ON my youtube channel
(1) Available in full on the Facebook page dedicated to this newsletter (post published on March 9 at 3 p.m.).
(2) On the other hand, the majority of the debates take place in French. “As for the written documents, they are systematically written in French, some being translated into Corsican”, specifies the nationalist territorial adviser Romain Colonna.
(3) Regional or minority languages and the Constitution. France, Spain, by Véronique Bertile, Italy, Bruylant, 2008.
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French language week: ask for the program!
Launch of the Center for the Arts of Speech, gala in tribute to Raymond Devos, tour of the mobile language laboratory: discover the highlights of French Language Week, which takes place from March 18 to 26.
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When the tongue is inflamed. A story of the words that divide us, by Pierre Troullier. Novice editions.
Clarification on “modern Latin”
Here is the site that allows you to better understand the approach of Alexandre Rousset, promoter of “modern Latin”.
Find rhymes and synonyms in Occitan
Decidedly, long live the Internet! The website of Lenga Occitana Congress allows in a few clicks to find rhymes and synonyms in Occitan. To use without moderation !
Participate in the month of Breton
In March, Breton is in the spotlight in Brittany. Training, cultural activities, transmission, practice: discover the events planned for this occasion.
Geopolitics of Romance and other languages
Kurdish is spoken by 20 to 25 million people scattered over several states. Ukrainian is spoken less in the east of Ukraine than in the west – which arguably facilitated Putin’s annexation of Crimea. Using these two examples, and many others, Gentil Puig-Moreno illustrates this simple truth: languages are also political instruments. A rule that is also true in France.
Geopolitics of Romance and other languages, by Gentil Puig-Moreno. Preface by Paul Molac. Editions Yoran Embanner.
I’m ch’ti but I take care of myself
A cold region, sad landscapes, poorly educated inhabitants… The clichés about Hauts-de-France are legion. In this spirited book, humorously illustrated by Delambre, journalist Bernard Lecomte goes beyond preconceptions and offers a vision closer to the reality of Artois, Picardy and Flanders.
I’m ch’ti but I take care of myself, by Bernard Lecomte. Editions Heliopoles.
Subscribe to the production of an album of Goulebenéze songs
Marc-Henri Evariste Poitevin, known as Goulebenéze (1887-1952), was a Charentais writer, bard, poet and singer. A call for subscription is launched to make an album of his songs. Registration will begin in April in Saintes.
Conference in Corte: how to save regional languages?
It is to this question that I will try to answer on Wednesday March 15 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Natale Luciani cultural space at the Pascal-Paoli University in Corte, at the invitation of the lecturer in sociolinguistics Romain Colonna. I will draw inspiration for this from the ideas set out in my book Save regional languages! (Editions Heliopoles). Free admission.
TO LISTEN
Inclusive writing, exclusive writing
Does the French language, where the masculine acts as neutral, convey stereotypes that fuel sexist discrimination? This is the thesis of this two-part podcast from Balls on the Tablein which the two psycholinguists Sandrine Zufferey and Pascal Gygax participate.
TO WATCH
When Marcel Amont sang in Béarnais
If the singer who died on March 8 led most of his career in French, his Béarnaise identity had taken on increasing importance in his eyes over time. To the point of writing a book on this theme, How can one be Gascon ? (Editions Atlantica) and to record several titles in the language of his ancestors.
REACT, DISCUSS AND FIND MORE INFORMATION ON THE LANGUAGES OF FRANCE ON the Facebook page dedicated to this newsletter