Managing minority languagediversity in a french region :
Francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes
TROMSO international conference on language diversity
Nov.6th 2013
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
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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]
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Regional language diversity in France*
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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
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France
Occitan
Oïl
Alemanic
Piemontese& italian
Languages in contact
Francoprovençal linguistic aera :France – Switzerland - Italy
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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.
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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
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)
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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…
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Groups of francoprovençal in Rhône-Alpes
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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
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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)
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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 ?
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