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| Europe |
| French proposed to be official language of EU law. |
| 2004-10-25 |
| HT EURSOC A campaign to make French the official language of European law has been launched in an attempt to show the world that France will not bow to the ascendancy of English without a fight. Did the British propose that English be made the official language of the EU? Maurice Druon, a well-known academic and writer, says the French version of any EU text should be seen as legally binding. Sounds pretty unilateral to me. "Our language reduces the risk of different interpretations," and all this time I thought it was so nuanced. said Mr Druon, whose manifesto sent to the European Council was co-signed by the procurator-general of the French supreme court, Jean-Francois Burgelin, and the president of the Paris Bar, Jean-Marie Burguburu. The campaign touches on a sensitive topic for the French establishment, which has been concerned for some time about the declining international clout of "the language of Moliere". Basically, nobody wants to talk to them. Don't they have a word for "why"? In less than 20 years, the proportion of EU documents originating in French has been more than halved. But they didn't do it by cutting French, they just raised English Teaching unions and politicians have reacted with indignation They're shocked, SHOCKED to a report calling for English to be obligatory in the school curriculum, while one of President Jacques Chirac's objections to Peter Mandelson as an EU commissioner was that his French was not up to scratch. The foreign ministry has called for a spirited campaign for the language in Brussels while the Académie Française, which campaigns relentlessly for pure French, says defence of the language should be "the major national cause of the 21st century". No more l'e-mail in France, no siree Mr Druon, 86, is a natural choice as the campaign figurehead given his youth and energy . He has a long association with the Académie Française, including spells as chairman and permanent secretary, and is a former cultural affairs minister and distinguished author. Despite his robust advocacy of his mother tongue, he is also a committed anglophile and was made an honorary knight for his work with Gen de Gaulle's London-based Free French. He wrote the lyrics of Chant des Partisans, the anthem of the French Resistance, with his uncle, the writer Joseph Kessel, in a Surrey hotel. They can't do anything without help from the Brits |
| Posted by:Mrs. Davis |
| #17 I vote for Mandrin, fits the EU bureaucrat mentality perfectly. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-10-25 5:12:07 PM |
| #16 But Phrench is the perfect language for spittlizing. Why don't they just piss every body off and vote for Esperanto |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2004-10-25 5:02:24 PM |
| #15 We should start a campaign to have French moved to the "Dead Languages" department in US universities and colleges.... if for no other reason than to watch the Frankish gnashing of teeth and wails of anguish. I mean it's just a corruption of Latin anyway.... |
| Posted by: Hupuger Jish6229 2004-10-25 3:32:05 PM |
| #14 The French tried to conquer Europe. The Germans tried to conquer Europe and failed. I can see why the Europeans wouldn't want either language to dominate. England on the other hand had the position of preventing anyone from conquering Europe. English is the natural language for Europe. But damn it, those pesky yanks speak English don't they. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2004-10-25 3:02:25 PM |
| #13 Even though the Swiss cantons speak German, French, Italian, and another Latin variation, the national government decreed that English would be the second language taught in its schools as it was the international language of technology, medicine, commerce, science, aviation, etc. |
| Posted by: Don 2004-10-25 12:56:54 PM |
| #12 Well, I feel like a numbskull. A kneejerk reaction-I sometimes confuse the EU and the UN. Not an entirely unreasonable mistake to make-but still, sorry, folks. |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-10-25 12:17:49 PM |
| #11 A last gasp at French greatness. With all the Arabic 1st language/French 2nd language darlings in the UN now, he'll have plenty of characters backing him on this. |
| Posted by: Jules 187 2004-10-25 12:15:00 PM |
| #10 Quelle idee... |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-10-25 12:07:45 PM |
| #9 If you think about it, this is actually not a bad idea. In a few years no one but the French and a handful of Belgians would understand the EU laws. The rest of us could just ignore them and get on with our lives unfettered by all that asinine Brussels bureaucracy. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-25 11:07:35 AM |
| #8 Not sure about "leprechaun", but I'd say "pot o' gold" is spelled Oil-For-Food after translation... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-25 10:57:10 AM |
| #7 And how do you say "leprechaun" in French? "Chirac" |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-10-25 10:56:51 AM |
| #6 I'm back now. Ireland is in the EU -- does this mean that St. Patrick's Day will now be celebrated in French? And how do you say "leprechaun" in French? |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-10-25 10:42:16 AM |
| #5 Ah, yes, French. Definitely French. And they can use the Marseillaise for an anthem. How fitting. [Excuse me, but I have to go wipe off some of this dripping disdain now.] |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-10-25 10:38:26 AM |
| #4 Well this little tug-o-war is going to be interesting, to say the least. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-10-25 10:30:48 AM |
| #3 Why shouldn't French be the official language of the French Empire? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-10-25 10:17:11 AM |
| #2 Lol! Excellent in-line commentary, Mrs D! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-10-25 10:06:24 AM |
| #1 French is perfect for the EU. English is completely unsuitable for them. In English, words have precise meanings. Unlike French, English is the language of doers, not liars. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-10-25 9:56:04 AM |