There are certainly reasons to worry about the future of the French language in Quebec, believes Lionel Meny. A linguist has published a thesis entitled French shipwreck, British victory. “It’s not normal that we’re at this point in Montreal,” he says in an interview. “Hey, the other day at the airport: My wife needed help. The man who introduced himself didn’t speak a word of French. Just English. Let’s just say this poses a problem in a city like Montreal. »
At the same time, to understand the dimension of the problem facing the French, we should not stick to the case of Quebec. The linguist also condemns the neglect of responsibilities assumed by states, starting with France. “If the war for France is lost in France, what will Quebec be in North America? It will be difficult…”
In the French-speaking world, France has the largest French population. Its economy is strong. However, France is immersed in globalization, whose dimension calls for the neglect of the French language, Lionel Meny laments.
The French language problem may now seem trivial. Compared to the challenges posed by global warming, new epidemics, Russia’s aggressive policy, the crisis in the Middle East, Islamic terrorism, uncontrolled immigration, insecurity, industrialization, public debt explosions, indeed, Lionel Many agrees. “However, this puts national identity and social cohesion at risk. » This is nothing, he says.
state of affairs
“I dedicate a good part of my book to the question of the incredible statistics presented to us every year by the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF). I have long questioned these statistics that are repeated by the media, without sufficient critical thinking. »
According to the OIF, there are 321 million French speakers in the world today. Projections suggest that this number will increase to 767 million individuals by 2065. The OIF represents 88 countries or 16% of global wealth. Thus the French will continue to shine significantly. But this data appears inflated, Lionel Meny has criticized.
The linguist and lexicographer reaches 84 million French speakers worldwide. He said that the story should not be told. “In Africa, French is spoken by only a minority”, which is linked to the effects of colonialism. “Most people speak their national language. This is completely normal. »
We forget the fact that “Language really expresses the power of the people who speak it”. However, French represents only 2% of texts written at the UN and 2% of those written at the Secretariat of the Council of the European Union.
Along the way, the linguist observes, the English language itself has become commercial. Language teaching creates a rich market. By 2020, the British Council estimates that two billion people will be studying English. Some companies are making huge profits from this. English is taught by New Oriental Education & Technology Group, a Chinese company with a $14 billion market capitalization, for example, 771. Learning Centers », notes Lionel Meny. “English no longer belongs to the English. China also accepts it. The English language has become a commodity. And we need the product. »
Everywhere, he notes, the truth is that French has lost English. To start in France, he regrets.
Like it or not, English has become a universal language. The time has come to recognize that English must take a place in French, “as long as it does not become ghettoise,” argues Lionel Meny. He is quick to point out that this must be done within the framework of the most respectable law. “If the expansion of the domain of English seems inevitable, at least, to save what can still be saved, we must organize the partnership of the two languages”, especially on the French side. However, the law in Europe works against the French, he argues.
see New French
Part of Lionel Meany’s work is to explore what he calls New French. “In 1964, writer Edimble spoke of “Franglais”. I see things have progressed very badly. We went from “Franglais” New French. »
The language of the big capitalists of globalized finance permeates our mode of expression. He imports thousands of words, abbreviations and acronyms, modifies the meaning of French words, introduces prefixes, suffixes and layers into grammar and images into phrases. The linguist believes that we still do not understand the extent to which the French language is subject to English, in terms of its vocabulary and its usage in grammar. How to explain the use of words like Cheque, Cold, Vote, fake news, Follower, Ghost, such as, of the store, People, Internet, Shopkeeper, Streaming ? Every year a large number of English words are recognized by lexicographers, he laments.
English puts double stress on French. Stress not only on the corpus of the language, the role of its Anglophones, but above all on its status, its position in terms of the influence of the world and French-speaking communities.
Thousands of languages compete
Lionel Meny explains that there are between 5,000 and 6,000 competing languages in the world. They form a structured whole, now dominated by English. English is number one with at least 1.3 billion speakers. It is followed by a dozen central and major languages: German, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and Turkish.
We find ourselves on another floor of the linguistic edifice. Italian, Dutch, Polish and many other languages live. Finally, we find a block that covers 98% of the world’s languages. However, these languages are spoken by only 10% of the population.
“I am relatively pessimistic. I don’t know how to restore the French situation,” laments the linguist. It cannot be denied that everything in the scientific world is now played in English. “Before, we considered French, English and German as the main scientific languages. France has lost intellectual territories. » Nowadays, the share of French in scientific publications has collapsed: the number of publications published in English exceeds 90%, French does not exceed 1%, except for the social and human sciences, where it reaches 7%.
“I think we can at least affirm things in terms of our lives. I wrote this book to raise awareness. “Quebec is not outside the world, he said. “I wanted to stop feeding ourselves with illusions. It is more important than ever to show what is happening elsewhere. »
Lionel Meny, faced with a French shipwreck, believes we should work on sailing.
Watch the video
“Beeraholic. Friend of animals everywhere. Evil web scholar. Zombie maven.”
More Stories
What are the 5 most spoken languages in the world?
Master the Art of Applying Acrylic Nails at Home: A Complete Guide
Tortoises as Family Pets: Teaching Responsibility and Care