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Language transmission in in the course of the 20th century

François Héran, Alexandra Filhon et Christine Deprez

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François Héran, Alexandra Filhon et Christine Deprez, 2002, "Language transmission in France in the course of the 20th century", Population & Societies: 1-4.

Disponible sur / Availabe at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12204/AXCwcStFDxhNsJusqTx6 POPU TTIION

&SOCIÉTTÉÉS No.FEBRU ARY37 20062

Language transmission in France in the course of the 20th century François Héran *, Alexandra Filhon ** and Christine Deprez ***

“French shall be the only language of education”, pro- Institute of Linguistics’ languages of the world data- claimed the Ministerial Order of 7 June 1880 laying base [4]. The ten most frequently recalled childhood down the model primary school regulations. “The lan- languages are cited by two thirds of the respondents, guage of the Republic is French”, recently added arti- while a much larger number are recalled by a bare cle 2 of the Constitution (1992). But do families follow handful. the strictures of state education and institutions? What The Families Survey distinguishes languages were the real linguistic practices of the population of “usually” spoken by parents with their children (fig- France in the last century? Sandwiched between the ure 1A) from those which they “also” spoke to them, monopoly of the national language and the spread of i.e., occasionally-used languages (figure 1B). This English, what has become of French regional dialects, and what is happening to the languages introduced by immigration? The linguistic strand of the Families survey

Hundreds of languages known The Families survey linked to the March 1999 census, to a quarter of the adult population entitled “Family History Survey”, was carried out by INSEE and co-designed with INED [1]; the results are The exceptionally large sample (380,000 people) of the being used by both institutes [2]. The strand on linguis- Families Survey means that an answer can be given to tic practices received funding from the National these questions (box). The most striking thing is the Commission for the and the rich mix of languages known. On being asked “in Languages of France (DGLFLF). which language, dialect or ” their father and Preceded by an exploratory survey conducted mother in that order “usually” spoke to them at about in 1992 on a sample of 5,300 parents of schoolchil- age 5, a high percentage of respondents —26% of the dren [3], this strand breaks new ground in French adults now living in , or 11.5 mil- public statistics collection. Never has such a consistent lion people—recalled that their parents spoke to them picture been constructed of all the languages spoken in in another language as well as or instead of French. In six out of ten cases, that language was transmitted the country from such a large national sample. The concurrently with French. Half of the cases were questionnaires were completed at the same time as the regional or frontier languages; the other half were lan- census returns by 380,000 adults living in metropolitan guages of immigration, and were learned before or France, the oldest of whom were born before World after resettlement in France. No less than 6,700 lan- War One. The sample was made more representative guage and dialect descriptions were reported, match- by deliberately over-representing certain areas ing nearly 400 languages identified in the Summer (Flanders, , Moselle, , the Catalan Region, the Basque Region, ), then rectifying * INED. the results for publication. ** INED and University of Versailles–Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

BULLETIN MENSUEL D’INFORMATION DE L’INSTITUT NATIONAL D’ÉTUDES DÉMOGRAPHIQUES NATIONAL DE L’INSTITUT BULLETIN MENSUEL D’INFORMATION *** University of Paris-V, Laboratory of Sociolinguistics.

Editorial – Language transmission in France in the course of the 20th century • Hundreds of languages known to a quarter of the adult population - p. 1 • A one-in-three parent-child transmission rate - p. 3 • Reversing the shift? - p. 4 CONTENTS 2 Language transmission in France in the course of the 20th century

contrast between the two practices is informative. The fication of immigration flows has led to the appear- transmission of languages of immigration in child- ance of new African and Asian language families hood was more often usual than occasional: 940,000 whose method of transmission — almost always adults living in metropolitan France recall that their usual—reflects more recent arrival: they have gener- parents initially spoke to them in their earliest ally been acquired from both parents in the country of childhood, against only 230,000 who recall occasional origin pre-immigration. Turkish is a similar case in transmission, generally secondary to French. Likewise point. Portuguese, which was handed on to 580,000 adults Unlike foreign languages, most regional lan- on a usual basis, versus 100,000 on a purely occasion- guages were transmitted only on an occasional basis, al basis. Spanish and Italian — both languages of secondarily to French, and more often by one parent longer-established immigration—had a higher fre- only. This was particularly so for the langue d’oc and quency of secondary transmission. Lastly, the diversi- the langues d’oïl, already being rapidly lost among the

Figure 1 - Main languages other than French received in childhood and transmitted to the next generation

Number of adults living in metropolitan France reporting that their parents C - Number of adults 1 - Regional languages, spoke to them at around 5 years of age in a language other than French who handed languages of A - Usually spoken B - No more than these languages on frontier departments by father or mother occasionally spoken to their own children Alsatian langue d'oc langues d'oïl Breton Creole languages Platt Catalan Franco-Provençal Corsican Basque Flemish

2 - Languages of immigration Arabic Portuguese Spanish Italian German Polish Turkish English Italian dialects Vietnamese Both parents Both parents Other African languages usually spoke this language to them only spoke this language Usually Khmer, Lao occasionally to them Only one parent Bantu languages usually spoke Only one parent Serbo-Croat this language to them, spoke this language Occasionally the other spoke it occasionally to them Indo-Iranian languages occasionally or not at all Pulaar, Wolof, Serer Chinese languages INED Tamil, Telugu 021A02 0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 200 400 600 Thousands of adults Thousands of adults

Coverage: adults living in metropolitan France. Interpretation: 660,000 adults reported that their father and/or mother usually spoke Alsatian to them when they were 5 years old (including 600,000 both parents). A further 240,000 said that their parents only spoke Alsatian to them occasionally (these two figures are additive and cover a period from 1905 to approximately 1985). 410,000 of these adults handed on Alsatian to their children in turn. Source: INSEE, Families survey 1999.

Population et Sociétés, 376, February 2002 INED Language transmission in France in the course of the 20th century 3

older generation. That notwithstanding, both lan- the share of adults who have inherited a foreign lan- guages were recalled from the childhoods of very guage from their parents has increased in France with many still-living adults: 610,000 usually and 1,060,000 rising immigration. Since the late Sixties, for example, on a purely secondary basis for the langue d’oc (Occitan Arabic has become the linguistic heritage of 3% rather and its variants: Nissart, Provençal, Languedocien, than 1% of adults living in France. But over time, set- Rouergat, Limousin, Gascon), 570,000 and 850,000 for tled immigrants have tended to shift towards the use the langues d’oïl (Picard, chtimi or “Northern patois”, of French in the family. The transmission of Arabic as Lorraine Romance, Norman, Gallo-Breton, Vendeen, a usual language has declined by over half in the span Bourbonnais, etc.). of a generation, in the same way as Berber and 280,000 people recall frequently having had Breton Portuguese, to a comparable extent with that of spoken to them in childhood, and another 400,000 had Basque or Alsatian. So the share of the monolingual it transmitted secondarily to French. Alongside French-speaking community has risen steadily for a Corsican, Catalan and the Creole languages (bearing century (figure 3). But a new factor has now been in mind that the survey was confined to metropolitan added to the scene—English, often transmitted to France), Breton is one of the languages whose trans- children but not forming part of the family linguistic mission was even then more often occasional than heritage. usual, although the shift was less acute than for the The fact is that when the survey adults were ques- langues d’oïl and langue d’oc. Not so Alsatian, which tioned on the languages spoken in non-parent/child even a generation ago was still the best-transmitted , being transmitted more usually (660,000 people) than occasionally (240,000). Likewise, Figure 2 - Language loss in a generation: proportion of fathers who did not usually speak across most of nearby Moselle, families still usually to their 5-year-old children in the language communicated in a Frankish dialect, Platt Lorraine. that their own father usually spoke Elsewhere in France, only Basque was in a similar sit- in to them at the same age uation. Franco-Provençal A one-in-three parent-child Breton transmission rate Flemish langue d’oc Is the linguistic heritage of childhood being passed on Polish to the next generation? The Families survey asked Creole languages adults currently living in metropolitan France in Italian (incl. dialects) which languages they themselves spoke to their langues d’oïl young children, if they had any (figure 1C), bearing in Platt Lorraine mind that parent-child transmission can increase pro- Catalan, Galician portionately to the number of children. Looking at Corsican adults (figure 2) whose parents usually spoke a partic- Spanish ular language to them, how many did likewise with African languages their children? Little more than a third (35%). The pro- Berber portion barely changes if occasional use is included Basque for the two generations: 26% of adults surveyed had a Arabic linguistic heritage of a language other than French; Portuguese but only 9% passed it on to their own children (4 mil- German (incl. dialects) lion people against 11.5). Alsatian Frequency of disruption was particularly high for regional languages. Only Alsatian enjoyed a reprieve: Tamil, Telugu the chain of usual-language transmission was broken Khmer, Vietnamese in only 47% of cases. Basque and Corsican are in accel- Serbo-Croat erating decline (58% and 66%) but holding up better Chinese, Lao than Catalan, Platt, langues d’oïl and the Creole lan- Turkish INED guages (between 70% and 80% loss). The plight of 022A02 English Franco-Provençal, Breton, Flemish and the langue d’oc -100 -90 -80 -70 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 Mean % is more critical: nine times out of ten they had been lost to usual use by the next generation. Coverage: adult men living in metropolitan France. Foreign languages are also affected, experiencing Interpretation: 90% of now-adult men whose fathers usually shift from one generation to the next as they are oust- spoke to them in Franco-Provençal in their childhood at about 5 years of age did not do likewise with their own children. ed by French. And one in two times where they are Source: INSEE, Families survey 1999. handed on, it is in occasional use only. It is true that

INED Population et Sociétés, 376, February 2002 4 Language transmission in France in the course of the 20th century

Figure 3 - Shift to French in family transmission Figure 4 - Rates of usual-language transmission over the 20th century: languages spoken by the father of regional languages to children aged 5, exemplified to his children at about 5 years of age by Corsican, Alsatian and Breton since World War One

% (aggregated) % 100 100 INED 024A02 90 90

80 80 Alsatian 70 70

60 60 Breton

50 50

40 40 Corsican 30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0 1905 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 1915 1925 1935 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985 – –––––––– –– – –– – –– 19091919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1979 1986 1919 1929 1939 1949 1959 1969 1979 1986 Period of transmission Period of transmission Key : Cannot recall, did not answer or inapplicable (no father). Interpretation: 70% of parents born in Alsace usually spoke Fathers did not speak French to their young children. Alsatian to their young children in 1915-1919, compared to 18% Usually spoke another language to them, plus French occasionally. during the most recent period. The proportions are calculated on Usually spoke French to them, along with another language. the estimated population of each region (Alsace, Corsica, wes- tern Brittany) in each period. Other methods of calculation are Spoke only French to them. INED 023A02 possible, but do not affect the general trend. Note that the resto- ration of Alsace to France after each world war was followed by Coverage: adults living in metropolitan France (N.B.: similar results, a wave of gallicization which temporarily accelerated language not reported here, were found for maternal transmission) loss. Source: INSEE, Families survey 1999. Source: INSEE, Families survey 1999 and censuses. relations, English stands out as France’s foremost Israel), a language which is endangered or has become minority language: 20% of adults — 9 million moribund can regain ground if all generations of the people—report that they “sometimes talk with signif- family ensure that it is handed down by ongoing icant others (spouse, parents, friends, colleagues, action which backstops institutional efforts, on good shopkeepers, etc.) in languages other than French”. Of terms with the national language. The question is, these, 2,725,000 cited English—more than for Arabic how to get there when the precise state of family (938,000 adult speakers) or Portuguese (591,000). transmission is not known? The Families survey Foreign languages learned at school also favour—in bridges that gap by applying a single approach to all order—Spanish (1,134,000), German (824,000) and languages, regional or national, learned at home or at Italian (740,000). school. It confirms the undisputed predominance of Regional languages are less widely-spoken, but go French, and the increased use of languages taught at beyond family circle transmission. Alsatian has school, but also reveals the abundant linguistic her- approximately 548,000 adult speakers, Occitan itage which comes from our diverse origins and expe- 526,000, Breton 304,000, langues d’oïl 204,000, Catalan riences. French does not eradicate, but adds to, that 132,000, Corsican 122,000, Platt Lorraine 78,000 and heritage. Basque 44,000. All these languages are frequently spo- ken between adults in a non-parent-child transmission REFERENCES context.

[1] CASSAN F., HÉRAN F., TOULEMON L. – «Étude de l’histoire Reversing the shift? familiale : l’édition 1999 de l’enquête Famille », Courrier des statistiques, Insee, n° 93, 2000, p. 25-37. This being so, what is the likely future for these lan- [2] CLANCHÉ F. – Insee Première, Feb. 2002. guages? The transmission rates calculated on the basis [3] HÉRAN F. – « L’unification linguistique de la France », of regional populations confirm the extent of their loss Population & Sociétés, n° 285, 1993. throughout the 20th century (figure 4). However, [4] GRIMES B. – Ethnologue : languages of the world, Dallas, according to a detailed analysis by the American lin- Summer Institute of Linguistics, 2000, 2 volumes (see website www.ethnologue.com). guist Joshua Fishman [5] of the way in which some [5] FISHMAN J. A. – Can threatened languages be saved ? languages have successfully “reversed the shift” «Reversing language shift» revisited: a 21st century perspective, (French in Quebec, Catalan in Catalonia, Hebrew in Clevedon, Multilingual Matters, 2001, 503 p.

POPULATION ET SOCIÉTÉS. The monthly newsletter of the Institut national d’études démographiques ISSN 0184 77 83 Director of Publications: François Héran – Editor-in-chief: Gilles Pison – Assistant Editor: Catherine Guével – Translations Coordinator: Linda Sergent – Design and layout: Isabelle Brianchon – D.L. 1er term. 2002 – Ined: 133. boulevard Davout - 75980 Paris. Cedex 20. France – Telephone: (33) (0)1 56 06 20 00 – Fax: (33) (0)1 56 06 21 99 – http://www.ined.fr – e.mail : [email protected]