French vs. English as World/Global Languages

[James Smith]

Jim,

You're in a better position to know than I am, but
isn't a lot of the indifference of the "silent
majority" in France to this issue because French, or
the Francian dialect of Languedoil, is already a
second language to numerous inhabitants of France who
speak as their "native" language one of several other
languages or dialects such as German, Breton, Catalan,
Basque, Spanish, Italian, or Limousin, to name a few?
If I understand correctly, the speakers of these other
languages and dialects actually outnumber "native"
speakers of French, which is another reason protecting
the integrity and hegemony of the French language is a
political issue.



--- "JIM.WALKER" <JIM.WALKER at WANADOO.FR> wrote:
>
> Your mention of the silent majority is very
> pertinent here. My PhD research was about the
> attitudes of French speakers, both in France and
> abroad, to anglicisms and the English language in
> general....
>
> Regards
>
> Jim
>
> **************
>
> Dr. Jim Walker
> Departement d'anglais
> Universite Lumiere - Lyon 2
> 86 rue Pasteur
> 69365 Lyon Cedex 07
> FRANCE

>
>
>
>


=====
James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
SLC, UT                        |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free!
http://photos.yahoo.com/