More than 60 percent of French speakers now live in Africa. Despite growing resentment at France, Africans are contributing to the evolution and spread of the French language.
Tag: French Language
Keith Spicer, Canada’s Offbeat Envoy of Reconciliation, Dies at 89
As the country’s first commissioner of official languages, he oversaw a dual-language mandate. He later led a task force to listen to Canadians’ complaints.
Coloring History’s Gray Areas, With Strong Moral Outrage
Éric Vuillard writes short historical narratives known for their irony. His latest, “An Honorable Exit,” delves into France’s defeat in the First Indochina War.
Duong Tuong, Who Opened Western Works to Vietnamese Readers, Dies at 90
He translated works by Proust, Nabokov, Tolstoy and Emily Brontë into Vietnamese, and a classic Vietnamese poem, ‘The Tale of Kieu,’ into English.
Canada’s Growing Linguistic Diversity
A new report from Canada’s census agency shows that one in four people speak a language other than English or French as their native tongue.
After Mocking France’s Literary Elite, a Fraught Invite Into the Club
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, a Senegal-born writer, has won high praise and top prizes from Paris’s insular publishing establishment. But the novelist wonders: Is it an endorsement or “a way to silence me”?
Law Requiring French in Quebec Becomes Stricter
Quebec’s new law limits access to government services in languages other than French, requires small businesses to operate in it and caps enrollment at English-language junior colleges.
Even Before France Votes, the French Right Is a Big Winner
The dominance of right-wing ideas in France’s presidential election campaign follows years of cultural wars waged successfully by conservatives on television, in social media and in think tanks.
In a Nonbinary Pronoun, France Sees a U.S. Attack on the Republic
When a French dictionary included the gender-nonspecific “iel” for the first time, a virulent reaction erupted over “wokisme” exported from American universities.
A Socialite, a Gardener, a Message in Blood: The Murder That Still Grips France
The victim was a socialite. A message in her blood accused the gardener. But a grammatical error raised questions of class and language — and whether he was being framed.