The Rise of French as an Official National Language

Abstract

French emerged from Latin to become first of all the language of the king and his court, then an international language during medieval times, and finally the only official language of France. Later it also became a world language through the process of colonialism. This did not happen in a haphazard way, but through a careful process of legislative and educational policies spread over five centuries. These have been strengthened in recent years because of the perceived threat of English. These policies excluded the RLs from public life in the name of equality. As a result, they are now classified as ‘endangered languages’. In recent years, however, a new climate of thought has brought forth the desire to save them, although this desire is far from shared by all. The following chapter examines the policies which destroyed them, particularly those still in force, in order to assess the nature of the problem facing the RLs today. As will be seen, reversing the trend constitutes a formidable task.