A fascinating exploration of the historical and cultural development of the French language from the bestselling authors of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong. Imagine a language that is watched over by a group of forty "Immortals," a language with rules so complex that few people ever completely master it, whose status as the world's lingua franca has been declining for two centuries, whose use in global institutions is waning and whose speakers are so insecure they pass laws banning the use of other languages and ...
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A fascinating exploration of the historical and cultural development of the French language from the bestselling authors of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong. Imagine a language that is watched over by a group of forty "Immortals," a language with rules so complex that few people ever completely master it, whose status as the world's lingua franca has been declining for two centuries, whose use in global institutions is waning and whose speakers are so insecure they pass laws banning the use of other languages and spend millions of tax-payers' dollars to make sure it gets used in literature, music and film. Now imagine a language that is second only to English for the number of countries where it is spoken officially, surpassing both Spanish or Arabic, a language that is the official tongue of two G-7 countries and three European nations, that is employed alongside English in most international institutions and that is the number-two choice of language students across the planet - a language with two million teachers and 100 million students worldwide, and whose number of speakers has tripled in the last fifty years. This paradox is the backdrop for The Story of French, in which bilingual Canadian authors Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow unravel the mysteries of a language that has maintained its global influence in spite of the ascendancy of English. Mixing historical analysis with journalistic observation, and drawing on their experiences living in and travelling to French-speaking countries, they explore how the French language developed over the centuries, how it came to be spoken in the Americas, Africa and Asia, and how it has maintained its global appeal.
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Add this copy of The Story of French to cart. $36.14, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by Knopf Canada.
While 60 million Frenchmen Can't be Wrong (by the same author) is a look into french culture, this book is a terrific resource for french language enthusiasts who really want to get stuck into the history of the language. Naturally the book offers a useful cultural insight, but this book is more for those truly passionate about the language, and curious about its origins. Even the most advanced learner could have a lot to learn from this book. An absolutely fascinating read on where French comes from, and how the language permeates a great deal of everyday life for people around the world. Highly, highly recommended, but only for the french language and/or history enthusiast. Should probably know at least basic french first, otherwise some of the stuff could go over your head.
