francophonie

Handout 18: The French-Speaking World (Francophony)

a- Project (oral presentation, see Course guidelines).
Choose one French speaking country

Check topic on :"Discovering France" on http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/
http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france_159/france-in-the-world_6820/cultural-influence-and-the-french-speaking-world_6910/index.html

· What is the FRANCOPHONY ?

· What countries are part of it?

· Institutional System of Francophony

· French in different continents.

Francophony:
Term was coined in 1880 by French Onesime Reclus to describe the linguistic and cultural community which France was building with its colonies.

Note: However, this term is not entirely correct. French speaking areas of Europe escape that definition.
These areas were never French colonies!

1. DEFINITION OF FRANCOPHONY refers to Peoples who share the French language, and so,
appreciate a similar culture and they have created an organization (OIF) to defend their common interests

Yet there are differences in accents, local cultures and adaptations of the French culture.

In the United Nations: 40 delegations over 138 use French.
Total almost 100 millions French native speakers in the world,
160 millions people use French as natives or second language users

2. ORIGIN of the presence of the French language in the world is the following:

1-"Natural" geographic presence of the French-speaking areas of Europe
French as a language developed from the mingling of older languages (Celtic, Latin, Germanic/Frankish).French borders were established in the 17th century under Louis XIV, and are the result of wars and treaties...

2- French adminitrative zones: Overseas Departments and Territories (DOM-TOM).
These areas are overseas and are the legacy of former colonies of France in parts of the world such as the Caribbean, Canada, South America and the South Pacific.

DOM: 4 regions of France overseas: Martinique/Guadeloupe/Guyana/Reunion (cf Hawai and the US)

TOM: commonwealth overseas territories within economic and cultural ties with France- though largely independant (cf Puerto Rico and the US)

3- Countries who were former colonies of France/Belgium, or were at one point or other touched by French culture.
They use French as mother tongue and official language or as co-official language, language of administration. They chose French as their international language.
They use the French language for diplomatic purposes, as a language of international exchange and language of cultural expression e.g Vietnam (Film: Indochina*)

3. Issue of DECOLONIZATION

A wave of decolonization and independence swept across the world from 1957 on through the 60's and 70's:

Marocco, Tunisia, Algeria...Senegal, Mali, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, etc…
(See Senegalese singer: Youssou N'DOUR)

Former Belgian colony: Democratic Republic of Congo / Zaire
Former French colony: Republic of Congo-Brazzaville.
Ambiguity in the French-speaking world towards French. Sense of independence and cultural belonging.
Love-hate relationship towards France.

4. What countries belong to the Francophony? 55 countries

signed the Chart of the Francophony, indicating their wish to be part of the French-speaking world, including countries

such as Romania, Egypt... (why? cultural preference : French as language of diplomacy)

The OIF (International Organization for the Francophony)and its Agency, the

AIF the Intergovernmental Agency for the Francophony promote French culture but also support the self-determination of the countries with their own languages and cultures.

TV5- French World TV ;

TV5 was created in 1984. It is an international French-speaking television
network (on satellite or cable) that is divided into TV5 Europe and TV5 Quebec-Canada. It groups together 5 European French-speaking channels (TF1, France2, France3 for France, RTBF for Belgium and SSR for Switzerland) as well as the television
consortium of Quebec-Canada. It broadcasts 24 hours a day worldwide
(according to estimates its viewers represent 135 million households) with the
mission to develop regional programmes (news form all the different French -speaking countries) to meet the diversified audience's interests.

The OIF is headed by the Heads of States using French as their main language. These countries send delegates and have a commission (ministere) that deals with issues that affect the French-speaking world. European issues, in Europe, African issues in Africa etc...

The Institutional System of the Francophony in France:

The French Department of Francophonie Affairs was created in 1974 and put under the direct responsibility of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
High Council for the French language: makes recommendations and oversees the promotion of the French language and culture abroad.

Under the aegis of France and the President of the Republic
Its meetings are chaired by the French Prime Minister or the Minister for Culture and the Minister Delegate for Cooperation and Francophonie. see Alliance Française centers all over the world.eg. Nashville, TN: http://www.afnashville.org

Directorate General for Development and International Cooperation:

This action is developed around the main fields of cooperation(development and technical cooperation, cultural and Francophone cooperation, scientific, academic and research cooperation, audiovisual and communication techniques)
a mission for non-governmental cooperation and a mission for multilateral cooperation.
http://www.ademe.fr/

French in the World: different continents
I. French culture in Europe:
Natural expansion of French...early conquests, wars and the result of the whims of history.
Belgium (1830 independence; Wallonia, French-speaking south),
Switzerland (1/4th speaks French),
Luxembourg (also speaks a dialect of German),
Monaco (2km x 3km tiny kingdom).

Note: Some regions consider themselves "occupied by the French":

Independentist Corsica (French region since 18th C: 1768),
Brittany (Celtic culture), and the Basque Country within France (ETA Basque separatist movement)..
Check the site:http://www.europa.eu.int