After a lifetime of studying languages in a global context, French-born linguist Lionel Meney concludes that the battle between French and English is over in his 250 page book

This provocative title is borrowed from a new book1 that provides some global perspective on the vitality of French and English. Which language is doing better or worse? Compared to what?  And compared to when?

Lionel Meney is a French linguist, trained at the Sorbonne, who came to Quebec to teach at Laval University. After a lifetime of studying languages in a global context, Meney concludes that the battle between French and English is over. French has been defeated on every significant front and English has triumphed. His assessment is bleak but he supports it with 250 exhaustively documented pages of examples and statistics.

Meney’s refutes the arguments of naysayers who believe French in Quebec is doing just fine. Global data supports the claims of François Legault’s CAQ and Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s PQ that French is seriously threatened and dangerously declining. However, while language pessimists are correct about the imperilled state of French, Quebec’s desperate attempts to address global problems with solutions that blame local villains are misguided and doomed to fail.

The most vivid example Meney offers to make his case is the working language(s) of the European Union. The first six countries to form the Union were France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, which has three official languages (French, German, Dutch), and Luxembourg, which has also has three official languages (French, German, Luxembourgish). The EU operated with four languages (French, German, Italian and Dutch).  Things changed in 1973 when Great Britain joined.

As the EU increased from six members to 28, the cost in time and money of translation rose exponentially. English became the convenient lingua franca. By 2007, 72% of EU documents were written in English.  No single fact demonstrates the irresistible power of the English language more clearly than the predominant role it continues to play in EU communications eight years after Brexit. The English people could vote to leave the EU, and Europe could wave England goodbye, but the EU continues to communicate in English, now the post-national working-language of the global community.

Other international institutions are subject to the same reality. The UN has 193 member nations that speak hundreds of different languages but the U.N. recognizes only six official languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. The languages are not equally utilised.  English dominates 75% to 85% of UN communications.

“Meney believes governments can play an important role in support of language by providing first class education and assisting immigrants to acquire language skills.”

Meney documents the triumph of English in academic publications, second language instruction, international commerce and product labels. To have a comfortable mastery of English is a distinct advantage while to be unilingual in any other language, including French, is a handicap.

“Not long ago you could you could have a successful (international) career as a unilingual Francophone.  That is no longer possible. Failure to master this language (English) has become an insurmountable obstacle.”

In addition, French societies are being invaded by English words and transformed by English syntax, and young Francophones are enthralled by English culture. The internet is massively dominated by English. Despite France’s long history of international influence and the large number of French-speakers globally, the French language is everywhere in retreat.

Is this English domination fair? Is it good? The one thing beyond dispute is that it is a reality.

Meney believes governments can play an important role in support of language by providing first class education and assisting immigrants to acquire language skills. The current government of Quebec prefers to score points among its base by reducing the availability of first class education – when it involves English-speaking Universities and CEGEPs. The current government finds it more popular to deny immigrants services in languages other than French after six months rather than invest necessary resources to enable all immigrants to acquire French skills. The CAQ’s francisation program has been strong on rhetoric but lamentably weak on planning and implementation.

“If the expansion of the domain of English seems inevitable, to save what can still be saved we must organize the cohabitation of the two languages ​​on our territory.” – Lionel Meney, Universisté de Laval

Meney’s conclusion is sensible. “If the expansion of the domain of English seems inevitable, to save what can still be saved we must organize the cohabitation of the two languages ​​on our territory.” The inescapable future is linguistic cohabitation, aka bilingualism. The utility and popularity of English are undeniable. Quebec’s worst strategy is to defend French by declaring English an enemy unwelcome in the workplace, the public square and private lives. That war has been fought and lost. If anyone doubts it, they need to read Meney’s book.

Guy Rex Rodgers was founding Executive Director of the English Language Arts Network (ELAN) and recently returned to filmmaking. You can reach Guy at: [email protected]

¹ Le naufrage du Français, the triomphe de l’anglais by Lionel Meney (collections L’espace public, 2024)

Related Posts