<div dir="ltr"><h1 class="">Mais non! French in uproar over English in the classroom.</h1>
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<p>The French Parliament is considering a new bill that would allow
university science classes to be taught in English. Politicians and
academics across the spectrum are upset.</p></h2>
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By
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/About/Staff/Bastien-Inzaurralde" rel="author"><span class="">Bastien Inzaurralde</span></a>, <span class="">Correspondent</span> /
May 22, 2013
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<p class="" id="pgallerycarousel_caption" title="Photo Caption">French
academics protest in Paris Wednesday over a planned government reform
of higher education that includes a proposal to open up French
universities to English language classes in fields like science and
economics. France's National Assembly is taking up an education reform
bill that would allow public universities to hold some courses in
English, a plan that has alarmed language purists and the political
far-right alike.</p>
<p class="" id="pgallerycarousel_credit" title="Photo Credit">Benjamin Girette/AP</p>
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Paris</p>
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<p>When two French ministers last month launched a new program to
respond to the challenges of population aging, they gave it an English
name: “Silver Economy.” But that didn’t strike a chord with their boss.</p>
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<p>The day after, <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Jean-Marc+Ayrault" target="_self" class="">Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault</a> issued a memo reminding all members of the cabinet of <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Francois+Hollande" target="_self" class="">President François Hollande</a> that French has been the language in use by administration and justice officials here since 1539.</p>
<p>"I
invite you to ensure respect of the rules overseeing the use of our
language in society because, whatever the area it is about –
consumption, education, business, science, culture, broadcasting – our
social fabric is weakened if these rules are not strictly followed,” Mr.
Ayrault wrote.</p>
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<p>But now the government is proposing a bill that would allow some
classes to be taught in a foreign language, chiefly English, at public
universities – reigniting the country's frequent, ongoing debate about
the proper use of its constitutionally enshrined native tongue, as
critics say the new measure would undermine the French language's place
as a defining element of <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/France" target="_self" class="">France</a>'s national identity and cultural stature.</p><p>The
French government has hailed the measure as a way to attract more
foreign students and scholars to France and points that hundreds of
college programs are already being taught in English.</p><p>Supporters – including two <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Nobel+Prize" target="_self" class="">Nobel Prize</a>
winners – of the measure say it would not only make France more
attractive for talented students and scholars who don’t speak French,
but also help French students prepare to work in an English-speaking
environment.</p><p>“It is a good thing that we convey the message to
students around the world that they can come study in France and that
they won’t have to deal with a language barrier [in class] on top of
that,” says Antoine Petit, the associate general director of Inria, a
research institute for computer science and applied mathematics.</p><p>Yet
the bill, which went to Parliament today, has met strong opposition
from both politicians across the political spectrum and prominent
scholars.</p><p>Christian Lequesne, the director of the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Paris+%28France%29" target="_self" class="">Paris</a>-based
Center for International Studies and Research, says the French far-left
and the conservative right see the bill as a vehicle for American and
British influence in France.</p><p>“Politicians can’t help seeing a
domination of the Anglo-Saxon world [through this bill],” says Mr.
Lequesne, who supports the measure.</p><p>Far-right leader <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Marine+Le+Pen" target="_self" class="">Marine Le Pen</a> of the National Front in a May 17 news release demanded that Mr. Hollande withdraw the bill in the name of “national interest.”</p>
<p>“France
will not be stronger by giving up its assets and it national genius, by
pouring itself in the mold of an Anglo-Saxon-style globalization,” Ms.
Le Pen said in the news release. “The French language, present on the
five continents, is obviously among the strengths of our country.”</p><p>The
French Academy, an institution established in 1635 to oversee the use
of French, has also recommended that the portion of the bill that would
allow classes to be taught in foreign languages in college be withdrawn.</p><p>“The
French Academy, faithful to its vocation of guardian of the language
and its evolution, wishes to draw attention on the dangers of a measure
that seems to be of technical nature, when in reality it favors the
marginalization of our language,” read part of a statement issued on
March 22.</p><p>Opposition to the bill even comes from within the ranks of the Socialist Party in power.</p><p>Pouria
Amirshahi, a Socialist lawmaker in the lower chamber of Parliament,
says there is no point for French universities in trying to attract
foreign students from <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/India" target="_self" class="">India</a> and other developing countries who can’t speak any French or don’t intend to learn it.</p><p>“There
are hundreds of thousands of Indians who can speak French or who are
willing to speak French,” Mr. Amirshahi says. “So the one that only
speaks English, he doesn’t come here.... And if he comes, he has to
learn” French.</p><p>Amirshahi, who speaks English and other languages,
says the government should improve how French schools teach foreign
languages rather than require college students to take classes taught in
English.</p><p>About 220 million people speak French across the world, with <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Europe" target="_self" class="">Europe</a> and <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/tags/topic/Sub-Saharan+Africa" target="_self" class="">sub-Saharan Africa</a>
being the two areas with the highest concentration of French speakers,
according to the International Organization of La Francophonie.</p><p>But
Lequesne of the Center for International Studies and Research says that
contrary to politicians opposing the bill, young French scholars
usually feel comfortable speaking and writing in English.</p><p>Mr. Petit says he thinks this controversy also is the expression of France’s passion for arguments.</p><p>“We are really good in France at ending up arguing, fighting, debating about tiny issues,” he says. “And I think we love it.”</p>
<a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0522/Mais-non!-French-in-uproar-over-English-in-the-classroom?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonito">http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0522/Mais-non!-French-in-uproar-over-English-in-the-classroom?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonito</a><br clear="all">
<br>-- <br>=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br>
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