It seems that French, the language of Moliere, genius philosophers and shrewd diplomats, is sinking in the global storm of English usage – in commerce, politics and Internet. However, France's Minister of Culture Fleur Pellerin has deemed that English words are not threatening the French lexicon, but enriching it.
"We need to be able to understand the world we are in and that our language is enriched by external influences. French has always been a language that has been enriched by words from other languages," Fleur Pellerin, who called herself "the minister of the French language," told The Local.
Korean-born Pellerin, who is fluent both in English and German, believes that French can borrow words from other languages without being damaged.
"French is not in danger and my responsibility as minister is not to erect ineffective barriers against languages but to give all our citizens the means to make it live on," the minister claimed at an event for the annual French Language and Francophonie Week kicking off this weekend.
The recent statement made by French Minister of Culture Fleur Pellerin marked a remarkable policy change, and has been praised by most French linguists. Alain Rey, author of a dictionary on the history of French language, pointed out that some commonly used "anglicisms" originally came from Old French, particularly the word "challenge" ("chalonge"). He noted ironically that passing laws against borrowing words from other languages was actually tilting at windmills.
"I want French to be a living language," elaborated Fleur Pellerin. "Today we have around 250 million French speakers and in 30 years there will be around 700 million speakers of French, mainly in central and northern Africa."
