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Re: Oooooo! I hates that varmint! Attn: Dutch speakers

From:John Cowan <jcowan@...>
Date:Wednesday, September 4, 2002, 13:51
Christophe Grandsire scripsit:

> LOL. Is there *anyone* in Ill Bethisad except Parisians (or are they Lutetians > in Ill Bethisad? ;))) ) that find Francien a nice language? ;)))))
Well, what's "nice"? It's not a language of belles lettres, by custom, until the 20th century when attempts to use it as such begin, rather haltingly. It is the language of administration and public life. Great speeches have been made in it, the kind that are studied in school, but not great poetry (or at least not since Villon's day). In essence, it has part but not all of the typical H position in diglossic countries. The language that you write in, or speak formally, in IB-France is determined primarily by your purpose, and only secondarily by where you are or what your native dialect is. -- John Cowan jcowan@reutershealth.com www.ccil.org/~cowan www.reutershealth.com "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I am surrounded by dwarves." --Murray Gell-Mann