Louisiana Law Review Volume 57 | Number 4 Summer 1997 The rF ench Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem Roger K. Ward Repository Citation Roger K. Ward, The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem, 57 La. L. Rev. (1997) Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol57/iss4/7 This Comment is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at LSU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Louisiana Law Review by an authorized editor of LSU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. COMMENT The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem* I. INTRODUCTION Anyone familiar with the celebrated works of the sixteenth century French satirist Frangois Rabelais is sure to remember the protagonist Pantagruel's encounter with the Limousin scholar outside the gates of Orldans.1 During his peregrinations, the errant Pantagruel happens upon the Limousin student who, in response to a simple inquiry, employs a gallicized form of Latin in order to show off how much he has learned at the university.? The melange of French and Latin is virtually incomprehensible to Pantagruel, prompting him to exclaim, "What the devil kind of language is this?"' 3 Determined to understand the student, Pantagruel launches into a series of straightforward and easily answerable questions. The Limousin scholar, however, responds to each question using the same unintelligi- ble, bastardized form of Latin." The pretentious use of pseudo-Latin in lieu of the French vernacular infuriates Pantagruel and causes him to physically assault the student.