The Story of French
by Jean-Benoit Nadeau
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List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $6.95
Your Save: $ 8.00 ( 54% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 440.9
EAN: 9780312341848
ISBN: 0312341849
Label: St. Martin's Griffin
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 496
Publication Date: 2008-01-08
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: 2008-01-08
Studio: St. Martin's Griffin
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Skip the chapters on international organizations promoting French
Comment: I'm a fluent speaker of French and have lived in France and loved the authors' previous book, "60 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong." But I would only recommend this book for die-hard Francophiles. The chapters on the development of the French language are very interesting but the book gets bogged down in discussing organizations founded to promote French-speaking cultures/countries/groups, etc. I got the feeling this book was a way for the authors to publish research they had collected previously, perhaps while working on "60 Million Frenchmen . . . ," which was a FABULOUS read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but lacking depth and perspective
Comment: I approached The Story of French hoping to find a history of how the French language and its variants have evolved over the centuries, and how the language is facing the challenges of both the present and the future. While this is ostensibly what this book is about, I found it either lacking or frustrating in a number of regards.
First, the history and development of the French language, while addressed, only take up a relatively small portion of the book. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to a jingoistic, and often remarkably repetitive, exposition on why French matters in the world. In theory this would be useful (although perhaps without the jingoist or repetitive aspects). I want to know who uses French, and why; that's why I purchased the book. In practice it comes across as an excessively defensive comparison of the scientific, social, and artistic accomplishments of francophones versus anglophones around the world. While the authors argue that French stands against the irredeemably destructive monolingualism of English, at no point do I get the impression that they would be nearly so vexed if French stood as the preeminent international language - after all, much of the first section of the book explains why French is so superior to other languages around the world in its inherent rationality and structure.
Second, as mentioned above (perhaps ironically on my part), this book is extraordinarily repetitive. I can only guess that the authors were paid by the word, as what could have been a concise and succinct analysis of 150 pages was instead stretched to over 450 pages before appendices, bibliography, and index. I don't mind the length in and of itself. But the authors have a tendency to fixate on a dozen or so salient facts, and then to repeat them not only across chapters, but even within chapters. A good editor should have resolved this problem. It unfortunately becomes wearying for the reader, and diminishes what otherwise might have been valid points.
Finally, while the authors might have some insight into why people in Africa, Canada, or even Eastern Europe may want to learn French, they show surprisingly little insight into why people in the United States may not want to learn French. I was more than a little surprised to read the authors' shock and dismay that more students in the United States learn Spanish than learn French, despite the fact that the U.S. conducts roughly as much trade with French Canada as it does with Mexico. Let us set aside the strong implication that other languages of equal (or greater) economic value to the United States are not as inherently worthy of study as French. Had the authors spent even a fraction of their apparently vast travel budget driving a couple of hours south instead of flying to a remarkable array of francophone countries around the world, they would have noted that often the desire to learn a language does not stem exclusively from motives of economic or social advancement. While it is nice that many Americans study French because they want to travel or work in Europe, many more Americans study Spanish because it is infinitely more practical in a country where an ever-increasing proportion of the population speaks Spanish as their first language, and it is nice to be able to communicate with ones neighbors and co-workers. While the authors espouse the wisdom of learning French in other countries for practical reasons, for some reason the authors find it impossible to fathom why Americans would choose to learn languages other than French for exactly the same reasons.
As I hope to raise my 2-year-old daughter in a bi-lingual, if not a multi-lingual, environment, I read The Story of French to try to get a better sense of whether I should look to French as that second language for her. While the purpose of this book seems to be to demonstrate to the reader why French matters, I came out at the end unconvinced. Instead, I got the sense of a language that has a crippling inferiority complex. To the authors, it appears the use of language is a competition in which it is not enough to simply boost your own language, but to also diminish the value of the languages spoken by others. This does not do a service to the French language in my opinion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to the history of French and French speakers
Comment: This book is a great introduction to the history and sociolinguistics of the French language. It gives a good history of French from its origins in vulgar Latin to the modern standard language. Differences in how the language is perceived by its native speakers (as opposed to how English speakers perceive English) is highlighted and explained. The role of French in the modern world, as well as the future of French as an "international" language and as a minority language are discussed at length.
I do have a few criticisms of the book. I find it bizarre that the case of Luxembourg, a Germanic country that uses French in higher education and government, was not discussed at all. A certain hostility to the increasing dominance of English can be felt at times. The authors seem to feel that French will retain its place as the world's "second" international language, despite the increasing prominence of languages like Spanish and Chinese, and English's ever-growing clout. The authors also appear to miss the point that most French speakers in Israel are first or second generation immigrants from Francophone countries, with little evidence that French, rather than Hebrew and English, will be passed on. I also think it unfortunate that France's policies of eliminating regional languages, such as Breton, Provencal, etc. were not adequately discussed while the anti-French policies in North America were (correctly) highlighted.
But still, overall an excellent introduction to the history and sociolinguistic situation of the French language today.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lacks detail and depth; marked by complacency
Comment: I have two general opinions about this book.
First, its target audience is people who have an interest in French: people who are pursuing, have pursued or intend to pursue the study of French as a second language. This book doesn't do a good job attracting readers who are remotely interested in French (and most Americans, unfortunately, fall into this category).
What I'm trying to say is, if you are writing about French, why not broaden the horizon and try to appeal to readers who have never taken a French lesson? People maybe who never in their life expected to have an interest in this language? (Be it because they prefer all films and television in English, or be it because they consider the French anti-American, as the example of the Iraq war and Mr. Dominique de Villepin showed).
Bref (as a francophone would say) this book appeals to a "captive" audience that's already there, but it fails in the job of generating new interest in the French language and culture. And I believe that they'd do a better service to the French language if they appealed to a broader audience.
Secondly, this book is very sketchy, it even reads as a magazine (which is not amazing since the authors have a journalistic background). For instance, there are no footnotes, there are many anecdotes and plenty of remarks are just made without scientific justification. For example, on the issue of the advancement of English in Lebanon, they quote a Lebanese diplomat: "English is advancing, but not really hurting French" (page 318). That's all they say, but no further elaboration is made, no statistical or supporting data is presented, and the argument (that French is not being hurt) sounds extremely complacent.
This book lacks enough detail and more research is needed. Plus, they make no effort to seduce non-francophones as this is a book for people who already have an interest in the language.
Had I known about these faults I should have picked another book, on the same subject, but this time written in French and by a known scholar in the field.
Customer Rating:
Summary: So much interesting information!
Comment: I actually had to read this book for a class and I could NOT put it down! I really enjoyed reading the book and my poor girlfriend had to constantly hear me say "Did you know...?" It is full of interesting facts and history regarding the French language. I have a much better appreciation for the evolution of one of the most beautiful languages in the world. There were a FEW dull spots which is what got it 4/5 stars but still a GREAT read! I plan on reading their other book now!
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Skip the chapters on international organizations promoting French
Comment: I'm a fluent speaker of French and have lived in France and loved the authors' previous book, "60 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong." But I would only recommend this book for die-hard Francophiles. The chapters on the development of the French language are very interesting but the book gets bogged down in discussing organizations founded to promote French-speaking cultures/countries/groups, etc. I got the feeling this book was a way for the authors to publish research they had collected previously, perhaps while working on "60 Million Frenchmen . . . ," which was a FABULOUS read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but lacking depth and perspective
Comment: I approached The Story of French hoping to find a history of how the French language and its variants have evolved over the centuries, and how the language is facing the challenges of both the present and the future. While this is ostensibly what this book is about, I found it either lacking or frustrating in a number of regards.
First, the history and development of the French language, while addressed, only take up a relatively small portion of the book. The vast majority of the book is dedicated to a jingoistic, and often remarkably repetitive, exposition on why French matters in the world. In theory this would be useful (although perhaps without the jingoist or repetitive aspects). I want to know who uses French, and why; that's why I purchased the book. In practice it comes across as an excessively defensive comparison of the scientific, social, and artistic accomplishments of francophones versus anglophones around the world. While the authors argue that French stands against the irredeemably destructive monolingualism of English, at no point do I get the impression that they would be nearly so vexed if French stood as the preeminent international language - after all, much of the first section of the book explains why French is so superior to other languages around the world in its inherent rationality and structure.
Second, as mentioned above (perhaps ironically on my part), this book is extraordinarily repetitive. I can only guess that the authors were paid by the word, as what could have been a concise and succinct analysis of 150 pages was instead stretched to over 450 pages before appendices, bibliography, and index. I don't mind the length in and of itself. But the authors have a tendency to fixate on a dozen or so salient facts, and then to repeat them not only across chapters, but even within chapters. A good editor should have resolved this problem. It unfortunately becomes wearying for the reader, and diminishes what otherwise might have been valid points.
Finally, while the authors might have some insight into why people in Africa, Canada, or even Eastern Europe may want to learn French, they show surprisingly little insight into why people in the United States may not want to learn French. I was more than a little surprised to read the authors' shock and dismay that more students in the United States learn Spanish than learn French, despite the fact that the U.S. conducts roughly as much trade with French Canada as it does with Mexico. Let us set aside the strong implication that other languages of equal (or greater) economic value to the United States are not as inherently worthy of study as French. Had the authors spent even a fraction of their apparently vast travel budget driving a couple of hours south instead of flying to a remarkable array of francophone countries around the world, they would have noted that often the desire to learn a language does not stem exclusively from motives of economic or social advancement. While it is nice that many Americans study French because they want to travel or work in Europe, many more Americans study Spanish because it is infinitely more practical in a country where an ever-increasing proportion of the population speaks Spanish as their first language, and it is nice to be able to communicate with ones neighbors and co-workers. While the authors espouse the wisdom of learning French in other countries for practical reasons, for some reason the authors find it impossible to fathom why Americans would choose to learn languages other than French for exactly the same reasons.
As I hope to raise my 2-year-old daughter in a bi-lingual, if not a multi-lingual, environment, I read The Story of French to try to get a better sense of whether I should look to French as that second language for her. While the purpose of this book seems to be to demonstrate to the reader why French matters, I came out at the end unconvinced. Instead, I got the sense of a language that has a crippling inferiority complex. To the authors, it appears the use of language is a competition in which it is not enough to simply boost your own language, but to also diminish the value of the languages spoken by others. This does not do a service to the French language in my opinion.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great introduction to the history of French and French speakers
Comment: This book is a great introduction to the history and sociolinguistics of the French language. It gives a good history of French from its origins in vulgar Latin to the modern standard language. Differences in how the language is perceived by its native speakers (as opposed to how English speakers perceive English) is highlighted and explained. The role of French in the modern world, as well as the future of French as an "international" language and as a minority language are discussed at length.
I do have a few criticisms of the book. I find it bizarre that the case of Luxembourg, a Germanic country that uses French in higher education and government, was not discussed at all. A certain hostility to the increasing dominance of English can be felt at times. The authors seem to feel that French will retain its place as the world's "second" international language, despite the increasing prominence of languages like Spanish and Chinese, and English's ever-growing clout. The authors also appear to miss the point that most French speakers in Israel are first or second generation immigrants from Francophone countries, with little evidence that French, rather than Hebrew and English, will be passed on. I also think it unfortunate that France's policies of eliminating regional languages, such as Breton, Provencal, etc. were not adequately discussed while the anti-French policies in North America were (correctly) highlighted.
But still, overall an excellent introduction to the history and sociolinguistic situation of the French language today.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Lacks detail and depth; marked by complacency
Comment: I have two general opinions about this book.
First, its target audience is people who have an interest in French: people who are pursuing, have pursued or intend to pursue the study of French as a second language. This book doesn't do a good job attracting readers who are remotely interested in French (and most Americans, unfortunately, fall into this category).
What I'm trying to say is, if you are writing about French, why not broaden the horizon and try to appeal to readers who have never taken a French lesson? People maybe who never in their life expected to have an interest in this language? (Be it because they prefer all films and television in English, or be it because they consider the French anti-American, as the example of the Iraq war and Mr. Dominique de Villepin showed).
Bref (as a francophone would say) this book appeals to a "captive" audience that's already there, but it fails in the job of generating new interest in the French language and culture. And I believe that they'd do a better service to the French language if they appealed to a broader audience.
Secondly, this book is very sketchy, it even reads as a magazine (which is not amazing since the authors have a journalistic background). For instance, there are no footnotes, there are many anecdotes and plenty of remarks are just made without scientific justification. For example, on the issue of the advancement of English in Lebanon, they quote a Lebanese diplomat: "English is advancing, but not really hurting French" (page 318). That's all they say, but no further elaboration is made, no statistical or supporting data is presented, and the argument (that French is not being hurt) sounds extremely complacent.
This book lacks enough detail and more research is needed. Plus, they make no effort to seduce non-francophones as this is a book for people who already have an interest in the language.
Had I known about these faults I should have picked another book, on the same subject, but this time written in French and by a known scholar in the field.
Customer Rating:
Summary: So much interesting information!
Comment: I actually had to read this book for a class and I could NOT put it down! I really enjoyed reading the book and my poor girlfriend had to constantly hear me say "Did you know...?" It is full of interesting facts and history regarding the French language. I have a much better appreciation for the evolution of one of the most beautiful languages in the world. There were a FEW dull spots which is what got it 4/5 stars but still a GREAT read! I plan on reading their other book now!
Imagine a language watched over by a group of “Immortals” wearing Napoleonic hats and brandishing swords, one with rules so complex that mastery is a farce, and one whose speakers spend millions of dollars yearly to place it artfully in literature, music, and film. Now consider that this language is second only to English to the number of countries where it is officially spoken and has tripled in use in the last fifty years. Simultaneously frightening users with its delicately nuanced vowels, it is also beloved by millions for its romantic associations. The language is French, and this, is its story. In a captivating narrative that spans the ages, from Charlemagne to Cirque du Soleil, Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow unravel the mysteries of a language that has maintained its global influence despite the rise of English. As in any good story, The Story of French has spectacular failures, unexpected successes and bears traces of some of history’s greatest figures: the tenacity of William the Conqueror, the staunchness of Cardinal Richelieu, and the endurance of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Through this colorful history, Nadeau and Barlow illustrate how French acquired its own peculiar culture, revealing how the culture of the language spread among francophones the world over and yet remains curiously centered in Paris. In fact, French is not only thriving—it still has a surprisingly strong influence on other languages. As lively as it is fascinating, The Story of French challenges long held assumptions about French and shows why it is still the world’s other global language.
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