News
Le Figaro: "Paul de Sinety: "The Olympics are a wonderful showcase for the French language"".
ENTRETIEN : The influence of the French-speaking world must also be one of the objectives of Paris 2024. The general delegate for the French language and languages of France points out that athletes will be ambassadors for this.
Lucas Pialot / Le Figaro
"Say and experience the Games in French and in other languages. This credo is at the heart of the approach jointly undertaken by the Minister of Culture and the Minister of Sport for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP) in France. A platform of tools for learning French through sport and the values of Olympism has been launched, announces the General Delegate for the French Language and the Languages of France.
LE FIGARO. - What was the reaction in the French-speaking world to the news that the Olympic and Paralympic Games would be held in Paris?
PAUL DE SINETY- The choice of Paris has aroused real enthusiasm. The Olympics are such a major event that opportunities to promote the French language naturally arose. Working groups were quickly set up, bringing together linguists, teachers, sports federations and athletes. The aim was to be concrete and pragmatic. For example, how could the new disciplines admitted to the Games - such as breakdance - be integrated into the French language, when their roots, often linked to urban culture, give pride of place to Anglo-Saxon vocabulary? We've managed to come up with some stimulating solutions: for "footwork", one of the figures in break dancing, we suggest saying "passe-passe". And so on...
Isn't it a rearguard action to want to reconfigure the terms or expressions referring to a particular sport?
Wouldn't wanting to speak to 320 million French speakers be something of a dust-up? Exactly the opposite. Language is the ultimate factor in social cohesion: working on words, expressions and turns of phrase helps cement relationships between people. In my delegation for the French language, we are by no means purists, obsessed with the hunt for Anglicisms. Nor do we limit the Games to a small Franco-French perimeter: this is a multilingual event, just like the little digital guides we've published and which will be massively distributed. Throughout these pages, we defend the French language while advocating openness to other languages.
Nevertheless, the English language has taken over the sporting sphere on a massive scale. Is the phenomenon inevitable?
Major sporting events are part of the attention economy: they are subject to the globalization and standardization that is also affecting the cultural sphere. But nothing is inevitable: language technologies, a field in which France is heavily involved, are an opportunity to chart a new course. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a mine of knowledge that will enable us all to discover the resources and treasures of our own language.
There was a time when the French language reigned supreme over the Olympics. Should we be nostalgic for those days?
Until 1972, French was the one and only language recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), by virtue of Pierre de Coubertin's efforts to revive the modern Games at the end of the 19th century. Sharing this recognition with English was by no means illogical, given the power - particularly economic - of the Anglo-Saxon world. But this never overshadowed the place of French in the Olympic ecosystem: let's not forget that Coubertin, at the outset, combined sporting competitions with intellectual tests. This coexistence has disappeared. The fact remains that the Games are still the fruit of a philosophical heritage, borrowing from Antiquity as well as the Age of Enlightenment: that's why the French-speaking world must play its part.
The Games, which are a gateway to the world, are also an anchor in the regions, starting with Seine-Saint-Denis, often presented as a depressed department...
My delegation has signed a language pact with Seine-Saint-Denis, as it has done in the past with other departments and regions. This has led to the deployment of a number of initiatives designed to improve language skills, a major aspect of which is the fight against illiteracy. In fact, helping the most vulnerable sections of the population to master the language, by developing appropriate cultural offerings, is a particularly exciting priority that the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, has set for me.
In Seine-Saint-Denis, for these Games, with the elected representatives and the Campus francophone, we are working to make the French language a language of hospitality, in conjunction with other languages. The Campus francophone operation - "Ici, on parle français et..." (Here, we speak French and...) - displaying the shopkeeper's native language on storefronts if French is not his or her first language, is a remarkable initiative. My delegation regularly conducts studies on language perception. The result: the inhabitants of our country consider French to be part of their DNA. This makes them very demanding of public officials, who are urged to use the right words.
What indicators will make it possible to say that these Games are a success for French and the French-speaking world?
Dare I say that these Games are already a success? For several months now, cultural Olympiads have been taking place, reminding us that sport and culture are naturally destined to intermingle, through a host of fun and sometimes even festive events, which are always enriching. A case in point was the intergenerational dictation on the theme of sport, organized in the spring by the association La dictée pour tous. This summer's Games will be even more successful if we show the world that hospitality is not just a matter of English. For these Paris 2024 Games are set to be a multilingual proclamation.
Some observers sometimes scoff at the poor verbiage of sportsmen and women. Are French athletes good ambassadors for the language?
Without a doubt. The French language, with its rich registers and vocabularies of sport, has a formidable asset that athletes and para-sporters from all five continents know and naturally use. There's no doubt that many French-speaking ambassadors will have the words to share their joy. Clarisse Agbegnenou in judo, Hugues Fabrice Zango in triple jump, Oriane Bertone in climbing, Dany Dann in breakdance: these are names that immediately spring to mind, but the list is far from exhaustive.
This summer, on television, on the airwaves, on social networks, on platforms, in newspapers and even in bistros, sport will flood conversations. Are there any expressions that should be banned right now?
Cafés and their counters are bastions of the liveliest French language, one with multiple registers and rich local variations that will never be left out. As for the rest, questions of comprehension allow us to rule: using the acronym "MVP" for "most valuable player" is infinitely less legible than "woman or man of the match". Similarly, why say that Antoine Dupont, in 7-a-side rugby, handles "offloads" well? "Pass to contact" is much more explicit. This is the real criterion for a ban: clarity and intelligibility for all. Sports commentators need to be convinced of this.
Read the article on www.lefigaro.fr
By Frédéric de Monicault
Published April 29, 2024
