Maria Candea

Ah, the French language. Since 2015, I've been working on mastering the French language, orally and written. Then again, my job also requires me to be at least bilingual. As languages are part of my interests, reading informative books like this one here helps to acquire insight and knowledge.

Maria Candea and Laélia Véron are both specialists of the French language. They joined forces to explain - mainly in layman terms, though the book is food for thought for anyone who uses French in his/her job, studies, work, leisure time, ... - what all the fuss is about regarding their mother tongue, in France and other Francophone countries/regions. For obvious reasons, they had to go back a few centuries and tackle the problem at its source, whilst trying to explain and prove that there is no one French language, just like there isn't one kind of Dutch, one kind of English, one kind of German, and so on.

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'Le français est à nous !' is divided into eleven chapters divided over three parts, sandwiched between a Prelude and a Conclusion. At the end of the book there is also a glossary containing a short explanation of specific linguistic terms/inology.

Each chapter begins with a few assertions that are then invalidated/disproved: "On pense souvent, à tort, que: (enter assertion) ... Mais souvent on ne sait pas que: (enter invalidation/explanation)"

The chapters, each containing sub-chapters/themes, are:

I - Qu'est-ce que la langue?
01) Comment définir la langue?
02) Qu'est-ce qu'une faute?
03) Qu'est-ce qu'une langue en danger?

II - Au nom de la langue
04) Langage, pouvoir et violence: la langue comme arme
05) Masculinisation et féminisation du français: la langue comme champ de bataille
06) Langue française et colonialisme: la langue comme étendard?
07) L'Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF): la langue comme prétexte

III - Langue et débats: promenades dans les histoires de la langue
08) Qu'est-ce que le "génie" de la langue française? Le français à l'Âge classique
09) La politique linguistique de la Révolution française (fin XVIIIe siècle)
10) Enseignement et scolarisation de masse: aux sources de la grammaire scolaire (XIXe-XXe siècle)
11) Révolution numérique et défis (plus ou moins !) nouveaux

Each chapter also contains a 'Focus', a separate block focusing on a specific person or theme:
* Comment Molière écrivait-il?
* À quoi sert l'Académie française?
* Aller "au coiffeur" ou "chez le coiffeur"?
* Assiste-t-on à l'arabisation du français?
* Le retournement du stigmate
* L'écriture dite "inclusive"
* Le français "petit nègre"
* Senghor, au-delà du mythe
* L'Europe était-elle francophone ou francophile au XVIIIe siècle?
* Les mots de la Révolution: l'invention d'un nouveau lexique?
* Faut-il réformer l'ortografe du français?
* Qu'est-ce qu'un accent "authentique"?

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History is key in this essay. Have you ever heard of 'Les Serments de Strasbourg' (842 AD)? (lexilogos.com, the website contains links to other sources) I haven't either. So yes, already the first chapter is very interesting as a basis for what's to come and to start seeing the French language and its evolution from a different perspective. The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries are often mentioned throughout the book, no matter the subject. It was also in that period that the Académie française was founded, by the grace and orders of Cardinal Richelieu. But this academy's legitimacy is firmly contested by the authors of this wonderful essay. And they offer more than enough proof and evidence to corroborate their claims.

Prepare for a very interesting trip through history, through everything that's related to (the French) language. Not just the evolution of French and its links with Latin, English, and so on. You'll also witness how French colonies came into contact with the French language, but how the French colonists, the army, and others deemed the African citizens of those colonies unworthy of a decent education and immersion in the French language. You'll learn that what is taught in school (orthography, grammar, ...) is still subject to change, is not thé be-all and end-all. This is clearly shown in the respective chapter(s). The authors therefore ask to not hold on too tight to what you've learnt, even though every language needs a set of rules as a basis. However, because of the economy, migration, travel, and so on, every major language - there are many smaller, local/regional languages everywhere that have gone extinct or are on the verge of going extinct - will continue to be influenced by other languages.

Speaking of French variations, let's not forget France's regional languages, and countries like Canada (and especially Québec), Switzerland, Belgium, ...

Racism, sexism, discrimination, sociology, technology, education, politics, migration, economy, ... When you think of it, language (spoken and written) is linked to every aspect of our lives. Words don't kill? No, not literally, but once again, it's important to choose your words wisely. The larger your vocabulary, the richer the choices you have.

As is custom in this digital age, there are many websites and YouTube-channels that allow you to learn almost any language. Two channels that were mentioned a few times in the book are Elles Comme Linguistes and Linguisticae, as they tackled some themes and subjects that were relevant to specific chapters.

Both authors also approached French from a sociological point-of-view through works of (mainly) Pierre Bourdieu. Among the mentioned works:
* Langage Et Pouvoir Symbolique (on my TBR-pile)
* Contre-feux, Tome 1: Propos pour servir à la résistance contre l'invasion Néo-libérale (my review)
* La Domination masculine
* Ce que parler veut dire.

Especially this last one looks quite interesting to me. Other books by Bourdieu that I've read:
* Sur la télévision, suivi de L'emprise du journalisme (my review)
* Contre-Feux 2: Pour un mouvement social europeén (my review)

Of course, there's also mention of dictionaries, especially when l'Académie française was supposed to be thé reference and keepers of the French language; a role they have practically always neglected and continue to neglect, holding on to their strict and conservative rules; furthermore, its members seem to count no linguists whatsoever. On the contrary, it's because of private initiatives like Larousse, Le Robert, and others that dictionaries have seen the light of day and are regularly, in accordance with contemporary trends and changes, updated. However, this also means that the most recent edition isn't always the best or that previous editions don't have any value any more. On the contrary, one should cherish the older versions, too, even if language(s) continue to undergo changes in vocabulary, orthography, meaning, etc.

And what about regional dictionaries, like Dictionnaire des belgicismes? (my review)

Oh, and let's not forget the educational works like Bescherelle, for example, the box set (Conjugation, Grammar, Orthography).

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Maria Candea and Laélia Véron have touched upon a large assortment of themes about and aspects of the French language, showing especially how no one owns a language, as language belongs to everyone; this also explains in part why each language is subject to change and how politic(ian)s should never intervene in such a way as in, for example, George Orwell's '1984', which is detrimental on so many levels.

As is common with a book aimed at (mainly) a general public, though it's also a recommended guide for experts in the field (linguists, teachers, sociologists, politicians, ...), not everything could be treated more elaborately. However, each chapter ends with a handful of related works and articles, most of which are still available online, in bookshops or in libraries.

'Le français est à nous !' (transl.: French is ours!) is more than recommended food for anyone, including those with a heart for language (especially French), and who wishes to understand the importance of (the use of) language, in any context.… (más)