Leçon 1: Salut la francophonie!
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It is a tad cliché to say that French is the "language of love." It may be the the language of Molière, but it is also the language in which which I get my oil changed and have spats with my wife, and millions of other people from Canada to the Congo perceive and engage with the world around them every day.
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In this leçon [lesson] we will learn where people speak French all over the world, and how to appropriately greet them.
Part I. La francophonie means the "French-speaking world." The Francophone world is comprised of more than forty countries on five continents. In these places French is either:
1) A maternal language used in the home;
2) A daily means of public communication;
3) The official language used in government and business;
4) The principal language of education
Worldwide there are more than 150 million francophones. Two of every three francophones in the world today live outside of France, and that proportion is likely to continue to increase.
In the United States French is an official language in one state (Louisiana) and is still an important minority language in several others (New England in particular where millions of French-Canadians immigrated during the nineteenth-century). In Wisconsin, French was a common language in many homes as recently as 50 years ago. A French Belgian dialect, called Walloon, is still spoken by several thousand people in Northeast Wisconsin. Francophones are an important part of Wisconsin's past and present.
The spread of French has much to do with the age of exploration and colonialism, but it also has as much to do with the spread of culture, science, and diplomacy.
In eighteenth-century Europe, for example, French was the predominate language of both statecraft and science. To be a savant or a statesmen, anywhere in the West, (like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson), one had to have mastered the French language. Indeed, our Founding Fathers could not have constructed or even have conceived our Constitution without a deep knowledge of the French philosophes of the Englightenment such as Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu.
For my part, I have friends, colleagues, and students from around the Francophone world including: Nouvelle Écosse, France (Paris, Marseilles, Brétagne, and Alsace), Haïti, Algérie, Maroc, Niger, Senégal, and Vietnam). I also have met people from Columbia, Guatamala, Cuba, and Mexico, and Romania and Russia who did not speak English, but do speak French. (Note: The elite in these countries often learn French as a second language.)
My wife and I have neighbors from Maroc who have immigrated here in order to give their children a better life (donner une meilleur vie a leurs enfants). The wife does not feel comfortable wearing her hijab, so she wears a pretty hat when she goes outside. The husband worries that others think his children amuse themselves by fabricating bombs in the basement (en fabricant les bombes dans le sous-sol). While we share the same language with this family, we also find it difficult to understand their rather conservative Islamic customs, as they find it difficult to comprehend our liberlism. But, we try and we always greet each other with a smile and a hearty bonjour!
Part II. Greetings in French, in whatever the country where the language is spoken, is generally done with the word: Bonjour (or, Bonsoir, depending on the time of day).
Bonjour literally means, "Good day." (Bonsoir, "good evenining," or "good night.")
If you are friends with someone that you greet, you will probably simply say "Salut," (a short form of "salutations") which means either "Hi," or "Goodbye" depending on whether the conversation is starting or ending.
Depending on the country, your greeting may include a kiss or two, or three, on the cheeks (les bisous [bee-zoo]). Note, it's not nice to lick people's face--just brushing faces is generally enough. Many Americans are not used to such intimacy among friends, if you don't want to kiss cheeks, just stick out your hand and they will get the message.
Normally, after greeting someone with bonjour or salut, you will ask them how they are doing, either in the formal form (comment t'allez-vous?) or in the informal form (Ça va?)
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Here is a sample greeting between Fanny from Rennes and and Abdoulaye from Niger both studying at the Université du Québec à Montréal:
Abdoulaye: Salut Fanny! Ça va?
[Hi Fanny! How are you doing?]
Fanny: Oui! Ça va, et toi?
[Yes! I'm doing well, and you?]
(Two (deux) bisous on each cheek for the pretty Fanny)
Abdoulaye: Tout va bien! Je suis content te voir!
[All is well! I'm happy to see you!]
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This week's vocabulary:
La francophonie = French-speaking world
Leçon = lesson
Bonjour, Bonsoir = Good day, Good evening, or night
Salut = Hi
Les bisous = kisses
Ça va? (As question or response) = How are you, and I am well.
This week's tip: Don't worry about a perfect accent when you first start French. Just be concerned with using the right word. Many people find accents quite adorable. Just don't mix up words, like bison (buffalo) and bisoune (a slang word for penis).
Now, practice in the comments by telling us about some Francophones you have met, or your experiences greeting people in French.
Final note: Claude, from Québec, will be doing your lesson next week!
Merci!