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- The use of the language in various fields
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DutchIntroductionThe Flemish of the North of France, called ‘Vlaams’ or ‘Vlaamsch’ by its speakers, is a dialect of Dutch spoken on either side of the border, from Dunkirk and Bailleul in France to Courtrai and Ostend in Belgium. In popular language, it is the Westhoek country, but Belgian linguists speak of western Flemish (Westvlaams) and call the province West-Vlaanderen. They refer to the Flemish dialect spoken in France as Franco-Flemish (Frans-Vlaams). This part of the Low Countries was annexed by France under Louis XIV, and as the official and communication language French made a growing impact, especially in the 19th century. Flemish itself has evolved, without preventing mutual comprehension with Belgian Flemings. Several claim that the French authorities have tried to eradicate Flemish from a strategic border area, which has always been very sensitive and open to influence from the North. The language is still smeared by the Flemish movement’s pro-German stance during World War II. The same prejudice exists against Alsatian German and several other languages in France. The Belgians of West-Vlaanderen use both standard Dutch and the Vestvlaams dialect. On the French side, Dutch is seen as a foreign language. It is even claimed that the ‘Flemish of France’ is a different regional language, only loosely related to Flemish. As there is no real or effective public presence of Flemish, the defence of the difference merely hastens the decline of the language community. Flemish was left out by the Bouvier study group and the report commissioned in 1984 by the French Ministry of National Education. There is a lecturer at the Littoral University at Dunkirk, but no other university studies on record. The use of the language in various fieldsPresent until the 1960s as a language of social and private life, Flemish has disappeared from towns and remains a rural language used in the family and the community. Intergenerational transmission ceased two generations ago. Estimates speak of 60,000-100,000 Flemish-speakers, largely elderly people, and a further 200,000 people who understand the language. Education: Flemish classes have been on offer in Dunkirk and other towns for the past 20 years. A grammar book has been published, but the spelling used in France is that of 19th century Flemish-French dictionaries, with borrowings from modern Dutch. Dutch is taught at the University of Lille and in colleges in the Flemish zone. Business and commerce: Dutch has acquired prestige as a language for local reference and work. In the whole of the Westhoek region, including Flanders, two million speakers speak the same variety, and French Flemish-speakers use it when shopping in Belgium. Mass media: Only a few articles in Dutch appear in regional newspapers. A local radio station, Eulenspiegel, broadcasts programmes in Flemish. Belgian Dutch-language public and private TV and radio broadcasts can be picked up throughout French Flanders. Bibliography and data sourcesMarteel, Jean-Louis: ‘Le flamand dialectal du nord de la France’, TILV nº27, mai 2000, pp. 72-75 GermanIntroductionAlsatian (many speakers call it ‘le dialecte’) refers to the German dialects of Alsace. Most belong to the High German group (Oberdeutsch), though in the northwest, Rhenish-Frankish belongs to Middle German (Mitteldeutsch), as does the Moselle Frankish spoken in Lorraine (see below). Alsatian spelling has not been standardized. From the creation of the Holy Roman Empire and until its 17th century annexation into France, Alsace was part of the German political set-up. It was reincorporated into Germany from 1870 to 1918, as well as during World War II. International borders and linguistic borders do not coincide. But over time, and with the self-affirmation of the two States, the political frontier and French influence led to linguistic disjunction during the 20th century. In the 18th century, after being annexed by France, in a third of the Duchy of Lorraine’s territory German was spoken. French had begun to be imposed as the administrative language earlier. In Lorraine, south of Thionville, the NW section of the Moselle department speaks a Middle German (Mitteldeutsch) dialect, very close to the local varieties of Luxembourg, the Saar region and the Palatinate. In 1962 there were 360,000 Mosellan-speakers. German-speakers educated between the wars are bilingual, but few of those educated since 1945 speak a Mosellan dialect. Lorraine German-speakers call it a form of German Platt. French linguists coined the term Francique. The use of the language in various fieldsEducation: Oral Alsatian dialects are only taught in some infant schools, as an approach or initial educational language. Some believe that the teaching of standard German in schools may actually accelerate the loss of Alsatian, a paradoxical case of a language being replaced by two standard State languages, with the backing of politicians and at least the acceptance of the population at large. Others see the system as a model: an ‘embryo of European intercultural plurilingualism’. German was taught extensively to 77,800 pupils in State primary schools in 1999 in Alsace, ranging from 21% in CP schools to 96% in CM2. A private association subsidised by local communities, ABCM, has founded French/German bilingual schools, of which two in Sarreguemines (Lorraine) use the early immersion system applied in Germany. The Upper Rhine General Council, the main local authorities and the State’s regional education services (Rectorate, Academic Inspections and IUFM) encourage parents to enrol their children in French/German bilingual programmes. In the 1994-99 State-Region contract, the Alsace region and the two departments budgeted €2·5M to bilingual education. About 5,300 infant and 1ary school children (4-5% of all 1st graders) in over 237 classes now receive bilingual education in Alsace and Moselle189. 1,000 of these were at ABCM and private establishments, which also taught dialectal Alsatian. However, the shortage of trained bilingual teachers is a problem. 65% of the close to 200 European bilingual sections in colleges and High Schools (Lycées) teach German; 30% teach English and 5% Spanish, Italian or Portuguese. In Lorraine, the teaching of German has increased recently with European integration and growing cross-frontier trade. Some primary schools follow the ‘voie spécifique mosellane’, or specific Mosellan system, teaching 8h a week in German. Where teachers are able and willing to do so, several hours of Lëtzebuergesch are taught weekly in frontier communes. Lëtzebuergesch can be studied at Metz and Thionville Popular Universities, with Luxembourg government subsidies. Mass media: Alsatians, whatever their language, are assiduous consumers of media from Germany, where programme are as attractive and wide-ranging as in French. As regards media based in Alsace, the situation is comparable to that in education. Two newspapers (L’Alsace and Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace190) have ‘bilingual’ editions, 10-20% of the texts being in German. Short weekly articles in German appear in other papers. Religious periodicals (Protestant or Catholic) also have some articles in standard German. Alsatian is most present on the radio: Radio France Alsace and private stations broadcast programmes in Alsatian, and the France 3 TV channel broadcasts 7 min. of daily news in Alsatian, as well as weekly programmes. For their part, the Lorraine media are all in French. As in Alsace, German and Luxembourg radio and TV draw large audiences. A 20-min. weekly programme broadcast in Platt in the 1970s by Radio Nancy was later suspended. Radio Sarrebruck in Germany now broadcasts in Platt and French for its Mosellan audience. The arts: The ABCM association publishes the magazine Land un Sproch / Les cahiers du bilinguisme, which covers Alsace and the Moselle region. In Lorraine, literary production is meagre: there is some oral literature, as well as some popular songs dating back to before the war. There are also some contemporary poets. Family and social use: A June 1998 survey on a sample of the adult population found that 51% claimed to speak Alsatian (ranging from 22% of 18-24 year-olds to 79% of over 65s), and 11% understood it, while 38% could not understand the language (from 63% of 18-24 year-olds to 16% of over 65s). Research suggests that intergenerational transmission of the language is decreasing. The predominant language throughout Alsace is now French, which is used orally in both public and private life. Alsatian is a subsidiary language used in private and public settings for contacts between German-speakers. Bibliography and data sources:Hudlett, Albert: ‘Le bilinguisme français/allemand en Alsace’, TILV nº27, mai 2000, pp. 32-35. Inform’APLEC, Associació per a l’ensenyament del català, nov. 1999: ‘Ressenya del 13è col·loqui de la FLAREP’, ‘Alsàcia-Mosela’, pp. 99-128. Tabouret-Keller, Andrée: ‘Domaine alsacien et lorrain’, Rapport... (op. cit.) pp. 100-115. 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