Identity, Insecurity and Image: France and Language

by Dennis E Ager

Overview

This book is about the relationship between language and the society that uses it. It specifically aims to discover what drives the French to concentrate so much on language, on what characterises their approach, and on the explanations for the policies governments pursue. It concludes that three motives have been and are important: insecurity, identity and image creation. Insecurity — the fear of a possible break-up of the French state from attacks on it — has coloured policy for the regional languages, the fight against Franglais, and policy, often not openly stated, towards certain social categories — the young, women, immigrants, the poor. The desire to affirm French identity and uniqueness is at the origin of policies to reinforce the status of the French language in the public domain. The zeal of the state in spreading French abroad, and a more recent discovery of the importance of language diversity in the world, can be traced to a mixture of altruism and imperialism: a desire to benefit mankind tempered with an intention to ensure the maintenance of France's world role.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781853594427
Publisher:	Multilingual Matters Ltd.
Publication date:	03/08/1999
Series:	Multilingual Matters , #112
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.85(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

Dennis Ager is Professor of Modern Languages in the School of Languages and European Studies at Aston University. He is interested in the mutual effect of language and societies, particularly French society. This interest is reflected in work both on the nature of society, particularly on the characteristics of state-minority relations, and on the nature of language, with particular interest in language variety. His most recent books are Francophonie in the 1990s. Problems and Opportunities (Multilingual Matters, 1996), Language Policy in Britain and France: the Processes of Policy (Cassell, 1996) and Language, Community and the State (Intellect, 1997).

Table of Contents

Figures
Tables and Maps
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
Part I Insecurity
1 Territorial Insecurity: Fear of the Regional Languages
2 Fear Mixed with Pride: The Myth of the Hexagon
3 Social Insecurity: Fear of the Social Outsider
4 Fear Mixed with Guilt: The Myth of Inclusion
5 Cultural Insecurity: Americanophobia
Part II Identity
6 Identity and the Status of French: The Language of the Republic
7 Managing French to Serve the State: Stability, Elasticity and Polyvalency
Part III Image
8 Gaining Influence and Prestige: Francophonie, Cultural Relations and French Abroad
9 Multilingualism: A Policy for Openness and Diversity?
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

Ager (modern languages, Aston U.) explores the reasons for the language policies of the French state, examining their origins and purposes; their areas of application; policies aimed at ensuring and maintaining the status and prestige of French, both in France and abroad; policies towards other languages used in France; the regional and community languages; and policies towards language learning. He concludes that three motives have been and are important in France's drive to concentrate on language preservation: insecurity, identity, and image creation. Distributed by Taylor & Francis. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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