The Defence of French: A Language in Crisis? (review)

This is a timely book in a field that is undergoing rapid change. Adamson addresses key diachronic and synchronic questions in an attempt to analyse the reasons behind French preoccupations with the status of the national language. The book also assesses the extent to which French is currently in a state of crisis, although in practice it is concerned exclusively with ‘external’ rather than ‘internal’ linguistic crisis: the latter would require detailed investigation of the impact of foreign borrowing on the syntax, phonology, and semantics of French. There are six chapters, the first giving a broad historical overview, the second addressing the contemporary dynamics of defence, the third discussing the role of official agencies, the fourth analysing the complex relationship between politics and language, the fifth comparing France with her European neighbours, and the sixth discussing some of the tensions and ambiguities in current politique linguistique. Under these headings the book discusses the major historical events that have shaped language policy and standardization, from Villers-Cotterêts through to educational and foreign policy in the nineteenth century, explaining how French became firmly entrenched politically as the sole national language of the Hexagon and the dominant prestige form in the colonies. But the most significant strengths of the book lie in its discussion of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, where the dominant themes are the role of regional and minority languages within France, and the promotion of French internationally, both as a language of international relations and as the language of la francophonie. A number of important tensions are foregrounded. One is the difference in tone between professional linguists, including those in the Délégation générale à la langue française (DGLF), and many of the private bodies that sprung up in the twentieth century, where the defence of French and/or a desire to promote inclusive politics around minority languages have in some cases become aligned with extreme right-wing politics. A second is the tension between France’s desire to preserve its position within European institutions, where French is now a ‘minority’ language, and its less than wholehearted support for regional and minority languages within its own borders. Another is the political lack of focus that can result from a proliferation of bodies, public and private. Particular strengths of the book include its judicious integration of internet material, ranging from the balanced (for example, the DGLF site) to the politically extreme (some of the regional language sites); its discussion of very recent legislation and INSEE statistics; its analysis of the differences and parallels in other European settings; and the fact that the style is very accessible. An unfortunate irony, given the book’s subject, is that longer French quotations are translated into English in the text, with the original French appearing at the back of the book. Nonetheless, this is a very valuable volume both for researchers seeking an up-to-date discussion of the main issues, and for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students of French.