The French State: Friend or Foe of Regional Languages?

Description

The French State traditionally has claimed the main responsibility for asserting and also promoting the cultural, linguistic, and social factors that make France itself French. In many respects the French State if left to its own devices would not even consider whether or not it was a friend or foe to regional languages within France itself. By inclination the French State is much less likely to be a friend of regional languages than it is to be a foe.

Contrary to the official view from the French State, France as a whole has a rich and diverse culture and so in contemporary times there are several languages being spoken in different regions of the country. Critics and supporters of the French State’s attitudes towards reginal dialects and languages have debated as to whether or not there has been a considerable increase in the need for cultural identity and consequently a renewal in the idea or attraction of regional language.