Standard French
Encyclopedia
Standard French is an unofficial term for a standard variety
of the French language
. It is a set of spoken and written formal varieties
used by the educated francophone
s of several nations around the world.
As French is a pluricentric language
, Standard French comprises various linguistic norms
(consisting of prescribed usage
). The syntax
, morphology
, and orthography
of Standard French is explained in various works on grammar
and style such as the Bescherelle
, a reference summary of verb
conjugation
s first compiled in the 19th century by the Bescherelle brothers from France
, and Le Bon Usage
written in the 20th century by Belgian
grammar
ian Maurice Grevisse
.
In France, Standard French is based on the pronunciation
and vocabulary
used in the formal registers of the French of Metropolitan France
, dominated by Paris
and called "Parisian French" while not taking into account the multiple other registers used daily in the nation's capital.
In Quebec
, Standard French is more often called "international French" or "Radio Canada
French" owing to decades of a foreign, European pronunciation dominating both news and cultural broadcasts up until the 1970s. In the rest of Francophone Canada, the spoken and written varieties of formal Quebec French
as well as language in Government of Canada
documents and speeches are viewed as Standard French. Linguists have been debating what actually consistitutes the norm for Standard French in Quebec and Canada on a lexical level since research to date has concentrated much more on the differences from informal varieties of Quebec French and Acadian French
. Since French-speaking Canadians use reference works written by the French, by Belgians, and by reputed Canadian linguists
and lexicographers alike, the answers concerning an endogenous norm are not always apparent.
Although Standard French has in fact undergone centuries of human intervention and language planning
, popular opinion, however, contends that Standard French should consist solely of the rulings by the Académie française
in France, or in standardization from terminological
work by the Office québécois de la langue française
in Quebec. There is further perceived or actual linguistic hegemony
in favor of France by virtue of tradition, former imperialism
, and a demographic
majority. Such notions hinge on linguistic prestige
rather than on a linguistic norm. Also, despite the existence of many regional varieties of French in the Francophone world, Standard French is normally chosen as a model for learners of French as a foreign or second language
. The standard pronunciation of Metropolitan French is, out of concerns for comprehension or social stigma
, sometimes favored over other standard national pronunciations when teaching French to non-native speakers in Francophone nations other than France.
Standard language
A standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...
of the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. It is a set of spoken and written formal varieties
Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
used by the educated francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
s of several nations around the world.
As French is a pluricentric language
Pluricentric language
A pluricentric language is a language with several standard versions, both in spoken and in written forms. This situation usually arises when language and the national identity of its native speakers do not, or did not, coincide.-English:...
, Standard French comprises various linguistic norms
Standard language
A standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...
(consisting of prescribed usage
Linguistic prescription
In linguistics, prescription denotes normative practices on such aspects of language use as spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and syntax. It includes judgments on what usages are socially proper and politically correct...
). The syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
, morphology
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
, and orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
of Standard French is explained in various works on grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
and style such as the Bescherelle
Bescherelle
A Bescherelle is a French language grammar reference book best known for its verb conjugations volumes. It is named after the 19th century French lexicographer and grammarian Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle. It is often used as a general term, though it is in fact a brand name. The series is made up of...
, a reference summary of verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
conjugation
Grammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
s first compiled in the 19th century by the Bescherelle brothers from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Le Bon Usage
Le Bon Usage
Le Bon Usage , informally called Le Grevisse, is a prescriptive book about French grammar first published in 1936 by Maurice Grevisse, and periodically revised since...
written in the 20th century by Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
ian Maurice Grevisse
Maurice Grevisse
Maurice Grevisse was a Belgian grammarian.-Biography:Born in Rulles, a small village in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium, Grevisse at a young age broke with a family tradition of working as blacksmiths by deciding to become a school teacher. He attended the Normal School of Carlsbourg, where he...
.
In France, Standard French is based on the pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
and vocabulary
Lexis (linguistics)
In linguistics, a lexis is the total word-stock or lexicon having items of lexical, rather than grammatical, meaning. This notion contrasts starkly with the Chomskian proposition of a “Universal Grammar” as the prime mover for language...
used in the formal registers of the French of Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France is the part of France located in Europe. It can also be described as mainland France or as the French mainland and the island of Corsica...
, dominated by Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and called "Parisian French" while not taking into account the multiple other registers used daily in the nation's capital.
In Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Standard French is more often called "international French" or "Radio Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
French" owing to decades of a foreign, European pronunciation dominating both news and cultural broadcasts up until the 1970s. In the rest of Francophone Canada, the spoken and written varieties of formal Quebec French
Quebec French
Quebec French , or Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language in Canada, in its formal and informal registers. Quebec French is used in everyday communication, as well as in education, the media, and government....
as well as language in Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
documents and speeches are viewed as Standard French. Linguists have been debating what actually consistitutes the norm for Standard French in Quebec and Canada on a lexical level since research to date has concentrated much more on the differences from informal varieties of Quebec French and Acadian French
Acadian French
Acadian French , is a regionalized dialect of Canadian French. It is spoken by the francophone population of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by small minorities in areas in the Gaspé region of eastern Quebec, by small groups of francophones in Prince Edward Island, in several tiny pockets...
. Since French-speaking Canadians use reference works written by the French, by Belgians, and by reputed Canadian linguists
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and lexicographers alike, the answers concerning an endogenous norm are not always apparent.
Although Standard French has in fact undergone centuries of human intervention and language planning
Language planning
Language planning is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure, or acquisition of languages or language variety within a speech community. It is often associated with government planning, but is also used by a variety of non-governmental organizations, such as grass-roots...
, popular opinion, however, contends that Standard French should consist solely of the rulings by the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
in France, or in standardization from terminological
Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
work by the Office québécois de la langue française
Office québécois de la langue française
The Office québécois de la langue française is a public organization established on March 24, 1961 by the Liberal government of Jean Lesage...
in Quebec. There is further perceived or actual linguistic hegemony
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
in favor of France by virtue of tradition, former imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, and a demographic
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
majority. Such notions hinge on linguistic prestige
Prestige dialect
In sociolinguistics, prestige describes the level of respect accorded to a language or dialect as compared to that of other languages or dialects in a speech community. The concept of prestige in sociolinguistics is closely related to that of prestige or class within a society...
rather than on a linguistic norm. Also, despite the existence of many regional varieties of French in the Francophone world, Standard French is normally chosen as a model for learners of French as a foreign or second language
Second language
A second language or L2 is any language learned after the first language or mother tongue. Some languages, often called auxiliary languages, are used primarily as second languages or lingua francas ....
. The standard pronunciation of Metropolitan French is, out of concerns for comprehension or social stigma
Social stigma
Social stigma is the severe disapproval of or discontent with a person on the grounds of characteristics that distinguish them from other members of a society.Almost all stigma is based on a person differing from social or cultural norms...
, sometimes favored over other standard national pronunciations when teaching French to non-native speakers in Francophone nations other than France.
See also
- Language policy in FranceLanguage policy in FranceFrance has one official language, the French language. The French government does not regulate the choice of language in publications by individuals but the use of French is required by law in commercial and workplace communications...
- French grammarFrench grammarFrench grammar is the grammar of the French language, which is similar to that of the other Romance languages.French is a moderately inflected language...
- French phonologyFrench phonologyThis article mainly discusses the phonological system of standard French based on the Parisian dialect. French is notable for its uvular r, nasal vowels, and three processes affecting word-final sounds: liaison, a certain type of sandhi, wherein word-final consonants are not pronounced unless...
- Varieties of French
- Standard EnglishStandard EnglishStandard English refers to whatever form of the English language is accepted as a national norm in an Anglophone country...
- Formal written English