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French
Language: Historical Suppression of Dialects |
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Until Napoleon became emperor of France, which is just over two hundred years
ago, half the French population did not speak or understand French.
Instead, they used one of the many regional languages, some of which continue to
be used in France to this day. The use of these regional languages declined only
slowly until the late 1800s, at which time national education and deliberate
policies of suppressing regional differences firmly established French as the
language of France. By 1910, 90% of the French population understood French,
although 50% still understood a local language or dialect.
Today, French is understood by all French citizens (excluding a small number
of recent immigrants). Regional languages are seldom spoken, although perhaps
10% of the French still understand a regional language or dialect.
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French
Language: Recent Support for Dialects |
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The suppression of regional languages by the French government over the past
two centuries has almost eradicated them. However, in recent years there has
been increasing tolerance of linguistic diversity and appreciation of the
cultural heritage captured in these languages. Individual members of the public
have lobbied for the preservation of regional languages, while some government
members have added their support. In 2001, the French minister of Education
(Jack Lang) announced that there would be bilingual education in the French
public school system and that bilingual teachers would be recruited for this
purpose.
The use of regional languages in primary and secondary schools is
controversial. Supporters argue that it is required, in order to preserve the
languages and regional cultures. Opponents argue that this is of little
practical use, an additional strain on the school system and its funding, and
difficult due to the non-standardization of the individual languages.
For more articles on French, click on French
Language.
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