Language 1 - French

The first language, and perhaps most pressing in bilingual Canada, I want to learn is French. My father and his family speak it. They are French Canadian, after all. There are actually quite a few dialects of French, with French Canadian being one of them.

I intend to learn classical/Parisian French. I can pick up French Canadian French (how's that for an odd sentence) if I have the language upon which it is based. I will also be understood in France, should I go there. That's fairly important.

French - A Very Brief History

French is actually quite a young language, linguistically speaking. Before France was France, it was Gaul (and before that, who knows?). I'm talking long, long ago. In the Iron Age kind of long ago. The language spoken there was, unsurprisingly, Gaulish. What you might find surprising is that Gaulish is more closely related to Welsh or Cornish than it is to modern-day French.

Say what?

Gaulish belongs to the "Celtic" family of languages. It's only modern descendent on the continent of Europe is Breton. It is considered a 'p-Celtic', or, Brythonic (or Brittonic, depending on what school you ascribe to) language.

When Caesar invaded Gaul in 58 BCE, culminating in more or less complete subjugation after the Battle of Alesia in 52 BCE when Vercingetorix was captured after a long siege, the cultural landscape changed dramatically - as did the linguistic one.

Latin became the dominant language (particularly in administration), and, probably, all sorts of pigeon languages sprouted in various parts of the now Roman province of Gaul. Of course, the absorption of language was a much slower process than I've described here, but I'm short on space.

Then came the Franks (from whence we get the name 'France'). First noted in about 3 CE, they were a Germanic tribe hailing from north of the Lower Rhine and began incursions into Northern Gaul, creating a linguistic divide between the north and the south of France.

Further diversification and dialectisation of the languages throughout the Medieval era created a virtual melting pot of languages. Through this emerged one particular version of northern French which eventually became standardised and thence spread over the whole of France through aggressive 'one French' policies of government.

That' a broad stroke to describe a incredibly complex development. Do forgive me; space and all that.

Interesting to note that as France was undergoing its growing pains, they, when deciding upon a standardised language, sometimes chose the more Germanic words over the Romano-Gallic ones. Beer, for example, is bière in French, bier in German, and in Gaulish -cervisia (remind you of Spanish? Yeah, they were once Celts too... but I digress).

With me so far?

Modern French - It's War!

France, as most of the rest of the world knows, is extremely protective of its language. As a nation, it is quite aggressive in the promotion of the language and even has a committee to decide which foreign words will be used in official French, and which will be summarily dismissed as thoroughly inadmissible. How's that for redundant?

They are so aggressive in their promotion of the official language, that they are quite prepared to stop out the other linguistic treasures hiding in the more rural areas of France. Also, France feels French is under attack and is taking strict measures to avoid outside influences.

They love irony, the French.

Yet, despite the best efforts of the governing parties, French does what all languages do. It changes. The introduction of foreign words from all over the globe, including Portuguese and Arabic has changed the language spoken on the streets of France. Their dictionaries, like any other bound source, are lagging far behind everyday French.

There are a myriad of French dialects, not only with France itself, but all over the colonies. The French dialects spoken in the former colonies in Africa are vastly different to the French spoken in Canada, which is vastly different from the French of Paris. This is not including the Crèole spoken in many other former French colonies (like Haiti), either.

Still here?

Why I'm Learning

I live in Canada - an officially bilingual country. It would be helpful if I learned both official languages. Also, as an avid student of Celtic Studies, I'll have to be able to read and understand French in order to access sources - as there seems to be a considerable amount of academia on the subject written in French. No surprise, really. France was once Gaul, after all.

Most importantly, though, French is the language my father's family uses. It would be nice to be able to participate in their conversations at family gatherings, don't you think?

Excellent! Well, the first lesson begins, well, now! Wish me luck!