Managing minority language diversity in a french region : francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes

Managing minority languagediversity in a french region :

Francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes

TROMSO international conference on language diversity

Nov.6th 2013

[email protected]

This presentation is based on doctoral research founded by a 3 years grant from

Managing minority language diversity in a french region : Francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes

Bénédicte PIVOT Université Lyon 2 & Université Catholique de LyonDDL Institut P.Gardette – Institut Langue et Culture Française

06/11/2013Pivot Bénédicte @ Tromso 2

Research questions

• Regional language policy as a response to a local claim or for something else ?

� how Regional Administration set up linguistic policy for own purpose of defining identity, based on diversity discourses

• Regional language as minority language in ‘speakers’ representations / discourses ?

� How they don’t think themselves as minority and don’t claim for identification as francoprovençal/speakers/people, but “make live the language” (faire vivre la langue )

• How to deal with a language which goal is not to be ‘spoken’ again but which is not here “only to be pretty” ?

• “Juste pour faire beau” [2012-05-ASS4]


Regional language diversity in France*

06/11/2013Pivot Bénédicte @ Tromso 4* continental

22 Regions

9 regional languages& various local dialects

Legal status of francoprovençal

• 1999 : francoprovençal becomes one of the 75 languages of

France but can’t be taught at school o 1951 – Basque, Breton, Catalan, Occitan

o 1974 – Corsican

o 1981 – Tahitian

o 1992 – Melanesian, Gallo, Francique, Alsacian

• 2005 new education law :

‘Teaching of regional languages and cultures can be provided

throughout the school terms determined by agreement between the State and the local communities where these languages are

in use’

• 2008 Constitution new article :

Regional languages are heritage of France

• 2009 Linguistic policy acted by Regional Council of Rhône-

Alpes for Francoprovençal & Occitan


France

Occitan

Oïl

Alemanic

Piemontese& italian

Languages in contact

Francoprovençal linguistic aera :France – Switzerland - Italy


From no distiguished idiom to franco[-]provençal

• Early 19th century, French VS others idioms: a “new” linguistic area ‘appears’ o studies to define language limits between French and Occitan : a problematic

zone at the middle east appears

• In 1873, Italian linguist, Ascoli, call Franco-provençalo idioms in this area with Specific linguistics features

- Conservation of certain unstressed final vowels and thus of paroxytonism which

distinguishes it from French (north limit)

- Double evolution of Latin A : which distinguishes it from Occitan (south limit)

• since 1941 written in one word : francoprovençalo to take away idea it is a mixt of French and Occitan

• Known by linguists as an autonomous linguistic

system formed by multiple dialects.


Vitality of francoprovençal

• Language shift for French

o started late 19th century with school policies and strong stigmatized attitude toward “patois speakers”

o ended by after second World War

• Nowadays estimated ‘speakers’ of francoprovençal +/- 1% of Regional population

o no monolingual speakers of francoprovençal (neither in France, Italy nor

Switzerland)

o No native speaker in France under 60 years

o Most semi-speakers : who has learned language after French in some social/professional activities

o and lot of person “can understand but do not speak”

No daily use of language but regular leisure practices in groups :

- theatre, songs, sketches, folktales, jokes….06/11/2013Pivot Bénédicte @ Tromso 8

Diversity as « Regional I.D »


http://www.rhonealpes.fr

Rhône-Alpes linguistic policy

• 2009 Region of Rhône-Alpes recognizes Francoprovençal

as one of its two regional languages and signs for a

linguistic policy of promotion and valorisation in name of

• promoting diversity

o as diversity is the argument of regional identity

• valorised cultural heritage

o as is part of cultural diversity

• recognising regional linguistic diversity

o as regional languages are something that can be

negotiated in ‘markets’ (in France, in Europe)


Social reality of francoprovençal

Totally ignored by this name

from population (until

1990’s-2000’s)

People call the idiom “patois”

patois Bressan, patois

Savoyard, patois Lyonnais

etc…


Groups of francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes


About 50 groups/

associations

With 5 to 50 members

Activities :

Theatre

Songs

Discussions groups

Toponyms

Lexicon

ALL IN FRENCH !

Using francoprovençal

is part of activities

=Language performing

Francoprovençal a regional language, whoseprofit?

• Region set up linguistic policy and agenda o Artistic creation in regional language

o Literature creation

o « new » speakers creation ( by familiar transmission)

o Make language visible (especially to symbolise ‘regional’ authenticity

o Thinking they are talking to a linguistic (minority) community

• Groups o represent themselves not as community and not as community of speakers

o Groups don’t think in terms of familiar transmission

o Groups are not willing to write language and if in case, it won’t be something else

than local lexicon,

o Groups are performing for local public, it’s for their memories, heritage.

hard for groups to match with regional agenda and so to benefit from

linguistic policy measures


What about the use of language ?

• francoprovençal is not a language in use and peolpe don’t want it to be in use again

• BUT

• They want to keep « make it living » even if it is only by words or stickers in museums or some plays

• Is more important to show language is still there than to effectively meaning things when using it (postvernacular : Shandler, 2006)


Conclusion

• Francoprovençal has become a symbolic object that both Administration and groups invested with different meanings, it has also become a subject of public discourses and social fact but ignoring the main question for what all this should have been :

o how to renew with transmission respecting the value and the symbolic function this language has for the people ?


Managing minority language diversity in a french region : francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes

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