French vs. English as World/Global Languages

[Grant Barrett]

I found this extract below to be a good restatement of the
Francophone perspective on the replacement of French on the world
scene by English. It comes from a report before the French National
assembly on Francophone diffusion, presented by Yves Tavernier.
The English translation is mine.

This topic has become of greater interest to me as I see
throughout Europe what I consider a surprising openness to English (and
I am as surprised by my surprise as I am of anything). Even the
French people seem to blush with pride when they speak English; at
least in Paris, English-speaking French folks are easily found.
What is at odds with this is the official government stance on
the protection of French.

I should compare this for a second with Sweden, where, as I
understand it, English education begins at age nine and an incredible
majority of the population is fluent in the exact
"Anglo-American" English described below. Not that Swedish was ever much good
outside of Sweden, Denmark, parts of Finland and claiming your
Nobel Prize.

No doubt I should mention that there is a variable undercurrent
of confusion, disgruntlement, shame and national pride against
English, even in places like Sweden where it is widely accepted.
During the Stockholm gay pride parade in August a Swedish gay
doctor organization's parade banner [four nouns in a row, another
reason I love this language] was written in English. Somebody in the
crowd shouted something along the lines of, "Yay for you guys,
but next time use Swedish."


http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/2/rap-info/i2592.htm


The idea of the French "universal language" opposed to the
Anglo-American "global language" was remarkably developed last June 24
on the occasion of the 124th anniversary of St. Joseph
University of Beirut by professor Selim Abou, rector of that institution.
According to him, English is the instrument of a cultural
homogenization favorable to the diffusion of consumer products, in the
framework of the globalization of economies. Faced with the
language of commerce and of consumerism, French seems to him as the
language of critical humanism which produced the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and of Citizens. If English tends toward monopoly
and  exclusion in wanting to impose a global lifestyle, French
affirms itself open to all cultures, the difference being an element
essential to life: on one side, the expression of a generic and
strongly conditioned way of life, on the other, the instrument of
pluralism and of free will.

This analysis merits reflection. The debate is not theoretical.
It is one of the major gambles of the future of our societies.
The defense of cultural exceptions does not seem, then, like an
expression of a "washed up" attitude, but like a central element of
a fight for diversity and liberty.

--- Original Text:

L'idée du français « langue de l'universel » opposée à
l'anglo-américain « langue du global » a été remarquablement développée le
24 juin dernier,  à l'occasion du cent vingt-cinquième
anniversaire de l'université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth par le professeur
Selim Abou, recteur de cette institution. Selon lui, l'anglais est
l'instrument d'une homogénéisation culturelle favorable à la
diffusion des produits de consommation, dans le cadre de la
mondialisation des économies. Face à la langue du commerce et de la
consommation, le français lui apparaît comme la langue de l'humanisme
critique qui a produit la Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du
citoyen. Si la première tend au monopole et à l'exclusion en
voulant imposer un style de vie global, la seconde s'affirme ouverte
à toutes les cultures, faisant de la différence un élément
essentiel de la vie : d'un côté, l'expression d'un mode de vie unique
et fortement conditionné ; de l'autre, l'instrument du pluralisme
et du libre arbitre.

Cette analyse mérite réflexion. Le débat n'est pas théorique. Il
est l'un des enjeux majeurs du devenir de nos sociétés. La
défense des exceptions culturelles n'apparaît pas alors comme
l'expression d'une attitude « ringarde », mais comme l'élément central
d'un combat pour la diversité et la liberté.