THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE
French, before becoming an international language, was primarily an amalgam of dialects derived from Latin and has undergone various regional influences, whether from the Gauls (which has not kept many words, as Syagrius has not kept his head long) of Aleman, the Basques (who gave us the word "left") or the Normans.
It goes without saying that the consolidation of territory controlled by the king of the Franks, from the Carolingians, who has contributed to the mixing of dialects and the emergence of a truly national language. It is considered that the founding document of the French language was the Oath of Strasbourg, signed by Charles the Bald and Louis the Germanic, in the year 842. The document marks a break with the politics of Latin, the language of administration of the great kingdom of Charlemagne, which replaces the dialects spoken in each of the kingdoms born to burst - the language "Romance" (later French) and the "old high German" (later German). Languages cousins enemy languages, languages born of a partition.
Incubation of French "hexagon" and took about 9 centuries, therefore, from the Oath of Strasbourg (842) to the founding of the French Academy (1635), whose primary mission is to set the French language, give him the rules, to normalize it and to write the first official dictionary. The turning point of the maturing period is unquestionably the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterets (1539), which made French the official language of the administration of the Kingdom of France and its dependencies. Note that this order coincides almost exactly with the beginning of the French adventure in North America.
PERIOD OF THREE GEOGRAPHICAL EXPANSION OF FRENCH
1. The European cradle . The French language as popular (and not just administration) has spread first from a core cultural and political located in the northern part of France. We can consider that this period, which covers the establishment of a European core and its first radiation ranges from 842 to the year the year 1635. Through the various continental wars, the French followed the movements of the royal domain and kingdoms that went with it. Similarly, dialects of French have maintained in several territories conquered then lost, in countries which are today Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain. For recent dialects of French, the cultural link with Paris has never been broken. For others, like the Catalan, the influence of a Another dominant language (English) has consummated the break and made it a separate language. We can consider that the European core contains now France, Belgium and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland. But the cultural production of metropolitan France is still dominant, its institutions are unparalleled linguistic and demographic weight is overwhelming (when compared to other Francophone communities in Europe).
2. The nuclei U.S.. The second period, which covers the period from the founding of Port Royal in Acadia (1604) to the permanent loss of New France (1763) and the break with the motherland, marking the establishment of a second core of speakers in North America. Language is not imposed, but exported and implanted (such as cattle, architecture, the seigneurial system and residents) as a tool of colonization, it has not been broken in continuity or permanent abandonment by his speakers. The territory was for a time, continuously, but it was actually composed of a mosaic of human settlements located in areas (ecumenical) favorable. The illusion of New France as a cohesive and uniform comes down to territorial claims on the size of a continent. In fact, the territory was colonized at different times, in different modes, for heterogeneous populations. These revolve around different centers of administration and human links or establish strategic variable levels with indigenous peoples (also heterogeneous). Acadia, St. Lawrence Valley and Great Lakes, Gaspe Peninsula, Richelieu Valley basins of the Ohio and Mississippi, the western plains, etc..
The break with the colonial power has prompted the nucleus of the plain of St. Lawrence, especially articulated around the axis Montreal-Quebec develop its own institutions. Louisiana, Acadia and other French settlements in North America have failed, contrary to the establishment of the St Lawrence, to establish continuity. We can cite the expulsion of the Acadians, the Foundation of Manitoba and the anti-French language laws as reasons for the lack of vitality of communities outside Quebec. For Louisiana, the political bargaining between the United States, Spain and France, and the mixing of populations, have diluted the francophone identity and led to a near extinction.
Note that I will not discuss in this section, small French dependency located around the world (the Caribbean to the Pacific via South America). Some of these areas or departments are francophone institutions overseas for a longevity comparable to ours (over 400 years in some cases), and have developed strong cultures and in many respects, remarkable . However, they are directly controlled by France, which provides (or requires) the material and cultural institutions.
3. The influence of the colonial empire . The third and final period of expansion of the language French mark the transition to a system of colonization, not human but culturally. It covers the years 1830 (conquest of Algiers) to 1958-1960 (decolonization movement in Africa). It is important to see how French has been imposed on dozens of people, who all spoke a different language. Some of these people spoke the same language, continuity, over a millennium. That French was imposed on Algerians, Vietnamese or Madagascar is a corollary of the establishment of the colonial empire, whose goals were both economic and political. When each of these peoples found independence, in new countries often arbitrary borders, he also found the right (some speak of the duty to remember ) to speak and teach a language that had been seen as "savage" who suddenly becomes language literature, academic language, the language of administration - their mother tongue, found. Arabic, Vietnamese, Peul, etc..
Under these conditions, French is relegated to the rank of 20th century language "diplomatic" as evidenced by the charters of the League and the UN, which implicitly recognize the importance colonial (but also "Institutional "And" philosophical ") of French cement diplomatic rapidly decay today. That these peoples have relegated to the status of French second language, or even third language or "language of the museum" should not be surprising. The "third Francophonie" second colonial empire is the one that originally did not want the French! We understand why today, the Francophonie has few strong French cultural centers. The Francophonie includes the European core, the core North American dependencies French overseas colonies and former "French second-hand." And us.
WE (AS) ARE A BEACON
The most vocal critics of the political ambitions of Quebeckers often emerge as an example of our assumed smallness, the argument of the complex of the colonized. The complicated relationship of love-hate relationship with France is often presented as evidence of the existence of this complex. The negotiations surrounding the vocabulary Quebecois and its international influence, the OLF, the acceptance of words in major dictionaries Quebec, Quebec purists (who reject anglicisms with a virulence unmatched) are however indications that our relationship with French language only not have the reflexes of the colonized ! Quite the contrary.
The colonized do not adopt the language of the colonizing power, rather he rejects. This reflex is to English.
The contemporary relationship between Quebec and France (since de Gaulle) is based more on mutual incomprehension, which is the source of many conflicts, ideological. Quebec seeks to establish a dialogue of equals, despite the near impossibility of the thing (given the asymmetry between the two entities: size, cultural influence, history, population, state sovereignty, economic power, institutions, etc.). Almost everything separates us, but the link is stronger roots than the rest.
is that Quebec does not consider itself a former colony of France. In fact, WE are not former colonies as are Algerians, Malians, Vietnamese. The French language we have never been imposed. WE are, somehow, a "lost tribe" of French North America, great-grand-son of France, has long been freed of maternal bonding but always conscious of this latent identity, of human warmth that is resistant to cold our climate and cultural pressures of our neighbors.
This situation is absolutely unique in the Francophonie. Let the other people or Francophone states. France is the cradle, the source and the lighthouse of la Francophonie. Belgium and Switzerland are part of the whole French proximity, in contact continuous and uninterrupted from the beginning. Other Francophone states in the world, received the French language as the language of replacing their national language as the language of domination often. French has long been in these countries, a hated language. Many have refused to return to their original language (be it Arabic, Fulani, Vietnamese, ...)
But not us. In Quebec, the language came with us in our luggage, and we always carried in our hearts, without a valid reason to reject it or choose another. Why choose another? Unlike the former colonized Algerians or the Vietnamese, for example, we have no other language ancestral to substitute French. French is a part of us, some dating back to origins as far away as the language itself.
And that's what makes us special place in the Francophonie. We also are a lighthouse.
French, before becoming an international language, was primarily an amalgam of dialects derived from Latin and has undergone various regional influences, whether from the Gauls (which has not kept many words, as Syagrius has not kept his head long) of Aleman, the Basques (who gave us the word "left") or the Normans.
It goes without saying that the consolidation of territory controlled by the king of the Franks, from the Carolingians, who has contributed to the mixing of dialects and the emergence of a truly national language. It is considered that the founding document of the French language was the Oath of Strasbourg, signed by Charles the Bald and Louis the Germanic, in the year 842. The document marks a break with the politics of Latin, the language of administration of the great kingdom of Charlemagne, which replaces the dialects spoken in each of the kingdoms born to burst - the language "Romance" (later French) and the "old high German" (later German). Languages cousins enemy languages, languages born of a partition.
Incubation of French "hexagon" and took about 9 centuries, therefore, from the Oath of Strasbourg (842) to the founding of the French Academy (1635), whose primary mission is to set the French language, give him the rules, to normalize it and to write the first official dictionary. The turning point of the maturing period is unquestionably the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterets (1539), which made French the official language of the administration of the Kingdom of France and its dependencies. Note that this order coincides almost exactly with the beginning of the French adventure in North America.
PERIOD OF THREE GEOGRAPHICAL EXPANSION OF FRENCH
1. The European cradle . The French language as popular (and not just administration) has spread first from a core cultural and political located in the northern part of France. We can consider that this period, which covers the establishment of a European core and its first radiation ranges from 842 to the year the year 1635. Through the various continental wars, the French followed the movements of the royal domain and kingdoms that went with it. Similarly, dialects of French have maintained in several territories conquered then lost, in countries which are today Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Spain. For recent dialects of French, the cultural link with Paris has never been broken. For others, like the Catalan, the influence of a Another dominant language (English) has consummated the break and made it a separate language. We can consider that the European core contains now France, Belgium and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland. But the cultural production of metropolitan France is still dominant, its institutions are unparalleled linguistic and demographic weight is overwhelming (when compared to other Francophone communities in Europe).
2. The nuclei U.S.. The second period, which covers the period from the founding of Port Royal in Acadia (1604) to the permanent loss of New France (1763) and the break with the motherland, marking the establishment of a second core of speakers in North America. Language is not imposed, but exported and implanted (such as cattle, architecture, the seigneurial system and residents) as a tool of colonization, it has not been broken in continuity or permanent abandonment by his speakers. The territory was for a time, continuously, but it was actually composed of a mosaic of human settlements located in areas (ecumenical) favorable. The illusion of New France as a cohesive and uniform comes down to territorial claims on the size of a continent. In fact, the territory was colonized at different times, in different modes, for heterogeneous populations. These revolve around different centers of administration and human links or establish strategic variable levels with indigenous peoples (also heterogeneous). Acadia, St. Lawrence Valley and Great Lakes, Gaspe Peninsula, Richelieu Valley basins of the Ohio and Mississippi, the western plains, etc..
The break with the colonial power has prompted the nucleus of the plain of St. Lawrence, especially articulated around the axis Montreal-Quebec develop its own institutions. Louisiana, Acadia and other French settlements in North America have failed, contrary to the establishment of the St Lawrence, to establish continuity. We can cite the expulsion of the Acadians, the Foundation of Manitoba and the anti-French language laws as reasons for the lack of vitality of communities outside Quebec. For Louisiana, the political bargaining between the United States, Spain and France, and the mixing of populations, have diluted the francophone identity and led to a near extinction.
Note that I will not discuss in this section, small French dependency located around the world (the Caribbean to the Pacific via South America). Some of these areas or departments are francophone institutions overseas for a longevity comparable to ours (over 400 years in some cases), and have developed strong cultures and in many respects, remarkable . However, they are directly controlled by France, which provides (or requires) the material and cultural institutions.
3. The influence of the colonial empire . The third and final period of expansion of the language French mark the transition to a system of colonization, not human but culturally. It covers the years 1830 (conquest of Algiers) to 1958-1960 (decolonization movement in Africa). It is important to see how French has been imposed on dozens of people, who all spoke a different language. Some of these people spoke the same language, continuity, over a millennium. That French was imposed on Algerians, Vietnamese or Madagascar is a corollary of the establishment of the colonial empire, whose goals were both economic and political. When each of these peoples found independence, in new countries often arbitrary borders, he also found the right (some speak of the duty to remember ) to speak and teach a language that had been seen as "savage" who suddenly becomes language literature, academic language, the language of administration - their mother tongue, found. Arabic, Vietnamese, Peul, etc..
Under these conditions, French is relegated to the rank of 20th century language "diplomatic" as evidenced by the charters of the League and the UN, which implicitly recognize the importance colonial (but also "Institutional "And" philosophical ") of French cement diplomatic rapidly decay today. That these peoples have relegated to the status of French second language, or even third language or "language of the museum" should not be surprising. The "third Francophonie" second colonial empire is the one that originally did not want the French! We understand why today, the Francophonie has few strong French cultural centers. The Francophonie includes the European core, the core North American dependencies French overseas colonies and former "French second-hand." And us.
WE (AS) ARE A BEACON
The most vocal critics of the political ambitions of Quebeckers often emerge as an example of our assumed smallness, the argument of the complex of the colonized. The complicated relationship of love-hate relationship with France is often presented as evidence of the existence of this complex. The negotiations surrounding the vocabulary Quebecois and its international influence, the OLF, the acceptance of words in major dictionaries Quebec, Quebec purists (who reject anglicisms with a virulence unmatched) are however indications that our relationship with French language only not have the reflexes of the colonized ! Quite the contrary.
The colonized do not adopt the language of the colonizing power, rather he rejects. This reflex is to English.
The contemporary relationship between Quebec and France (since de Gaulle) is based more on mutual incomprehension, which is the source of many conflicts, ideological. Quebec seeks to establish a dialogue of equals, despite the near impossibility of the thing (given the asymmetry between the two entities: size, cultural influence, history, population, state sovereignty, economic power, institutions, etc.). Almost everything separates us, but the link is stronger roots than the rest.
is that Quebec does not consider itself a former colony of France. In fact, WE are not former colonies as are Algerians, Malians, Vietnamese. The French language we have never been imposed. WE are, somehow, a "lost tribe" of French North America, great-grand-son of France, has long been freed of maternal bonding but always conscious of this latent identity, of human warmth that is resistant to cold our climate and cultural pressures of our neighbors.
This situation is absolutely unique in the Francophonie. Let the other people or Francophone states. France is the cradle, the source and the lighthouse of la Francophonie. Belgium and Switzerland are part of the whole French proximity, in contact continuous and uninterrupted from the beginning. Other Francophone states in the world, received the French language as the language of replacing their national language as the language of domination often. French has long been in these countries, a hated language. Many have refused to return to their original language (be it Arabic, Fulani, Vietnamese, ...)
But not us. In Quebec, the language came with us in our luggage, and we always carried in our hearts, without a valid reason to reject it or choose another. Why choose another? Unlike the former colonized Algerians or the Vietnamese, for example, we have no other language ancestral to substitute French. French is a part of us, some dating back to origins as far away as the language itself.
And that's what makes us special place in the Francophonie. We also are a lighthouse.
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