Francophone, Francophile...

An exception from most people in my country, my first language is French - although I speak fluently 2 of the 4 official Congolese languages. I also went to school from 2nd grade to 12th, in the French School system (yes, the French have International "French Schools" all over the world), and sometimes it feels like I know France better than the French (how rrogant of me, I know). BUt one of the side effects of all this, is that I have a tendency to be very defensive of the French language. Call me crazy! But the personal attachment I have developed with the language, and its right to stand as an international language (along with Swahili and Mandinka, in my opinion), is something I just cannot help. That is why I understood Pres. Jacques Chirac when he caused this mini-havoc:

BBC NEWS | Europe | Chirac upset by English address: "French President Jacques Chirac showed his temper at the EU summit when a French business leader addressed delegates in English.

He stormed out of a session when Ernest-Antoine Seilliere said he chose English 'because that is the accepted business language of Europe today'.

Mr Chirac told reporters on Friday he was 'deeply shocked' that a Frenchman chose to address the summit in English."

Now I write in English because I live in the USA, and my audience is majoritarily anglophone. But i also write article in French, because it is important that one culture don't get the impression that it can simply steamroll all the others, because they have bigger means of distribution. If to make that point I realize that I have to write everything bilingually, I might just do that. Chirac is somewhat of an overgrown drama-king, but I feel him...

Tags: France|EU|Europe|UNICE|Seilliere|Chirac|French|Francais