Is French on the decline

Ending is Never Stupid   Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:40 pm GMT
After some thought I've come to agree with Tom. Let's abolish French and Spanish.
Just Learn them!   Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:49 pm GMT
I speak French and Spanish. They are just two common languages. They aren't exotic (unless you are Asian, possibly) at all. They are workhorses. If you know them both, you can talk to a lot of people in the world-in the US, Canada, Africa, and Europe. You can figure out other romance languages, so that gives you an edge in Italy, and when dealing with Portuguese speakers. You can probably even go to parts of the Middle East with French.

Tom can say what he wants. Maybe he longs for a return to one language. Maybe it will happen. In the meantime, we have to communicate and not everyone (unbelievable, but true) learns English.
If you want to facilitate communication, you can do your part and learn another language in addition to whatever you normally do. Study it ten or fifteen minutes a day for a couple of years and practice it.
socorro   Sun Jan 04, 2009 7:53 pm GMT
Let's abolish French and Spanish speakers of this thread, except Just learn them
Peacemaker   Sun Jan 04, 2009 11:53 pm GMT
There is not point for French and Spanish people here to continue arguing and bashing each other's languge. Bottomline, French and Spanish are both important languages with their own strong and weak points. Can we just leave it at that and call a truce?
Informer   Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:07 am GMT
Here's a recent video from Louisiana in an office meeting conducted in French.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drGC88hJQ6Y&feature=related

French is still alive and kicking in that state.
Informer   Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:20 am GMT
Videos about a Coombian working in Lousiana who not only speak French but put a high value to it. Her name is Carmen Villegas Rogers. It's nice to know that the Hispanics outside this forum are nice and not hostile but appreciate to the French language and culture as with Ms. Carmen, she speaks the language.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYHeanbEzks&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgNITmU0DwA&feature=related
Informer   Thu Jan 08, 2009 11:45 am GMT
Le Chausson Show - Tom Klingler
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG6dtMhI7uY&feature=related

J'ai pas peur de parler français cadien.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSRWYw5EjSo&feature=related

Microsoft Surface Commerical Cajun French français cadien
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDeVXq3_q8Y&feature=related
Really?   Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:10 pm GMT
I see the point your trying to make with some videos about French in Louisiana, but this what the Louisiana wiki article says about French there:

According to the statistics from the 2000 census for language spoken at home by persons five years old and over,[29] 90.8% of Louisiana residents speak only English (99% total speak English) and 4.7% speak French (7% total speak French). Other minority languages are Spanish which is spoken by 2.5% of the population,...

So the fact that only about 5% out of a population of about 4 million speak French natively doesn't mean a lot. Yes some people do speak it, but the overwhelming majority don't. This isn't much to keep bragging about. Heck, Spanish already has 2.5 percent, so its not far behind French.

I'm saying that if French truly was doing well in LA, many more people would speak it or even bother to learn it.
Trully?   Fri Jan 09, 2009 3:50 am GMT
<< I see the point your trying to make with some videos about French in Louisiana, but this what the Louisiana wiki article says about French there:

According to the statistics from the 2000 census for language spoken at home by persons five years old and over,[29] 90.8% of Louisiana residents speak only English (99% total speak English) and 4.7% speak French (7% total speak French). Other minority languages are Spanish which is spoken by 2.5% of the population,...

So the fact that only about 5% out of a population of about 4 million speak French natively doesn't mean a lot. Yes some people do speak it, but the overwhelming majority don't. This isn't much to keep bragging about. Heck, Spanish already has 2.5 percent, so its not far behind French.

I'm saying that if French truly was doing well in LA, many more people would speak it or even bother to learn it. >>

Don't be so sure with what you read on the survey. Just because it's indicated there that there are few Cajuns who speak French it doesn't mean that they don't speak at all. I'm from Louisiana and I was one of those who answered the survey that I no longer speak French because of stereotype but in reality I do same thing with my friends, relatives neighbors. We just do it in private. Get it?

So keep your mouth shut because you don't know the real situation you're just a n outsider.

Ferme ta bouche!
Visitor   Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:31 am GMT
<< Spanish already has 2.5 percent, so its not far behind French. >>

I see the point your trying to make with a remark about Spanish in Louisiana and the rest of the US.

But everyone knows that the only reason why there are substantial number of Spanish speakers in the US it's because of the 1st generation migration from Hispanic America all the 2nd generationsare monolingual in English and doesn't even know a single Spanish word like Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez.

Let those illegal immigration from Hispanic America and those Hispanics would instantly become English speakers and forget Spanish.

As for the Spanish languiage in Lousiana, they are bound to die because they don't have CODOFIL and Hispanics tend to merge with the Francophone population in Lousiana because of the Roman Catholic religion. There are lots of Cajuns there with Spanish surnames like Rodrigue(Rodriguez), Gomez, Cruz, etc. who are second generation Hispanics that were totally assimilated into the Cajun culture and yes they speak Cajun French too.

Spanish is not even taught in Lousiana and it's chance for expansion in that state is so slim because they tend to get absorbed by the Cajun and White Creoles(whose language is Colonial French).

These videos prove that French is alive in Lousiana:

Vive la Louisiane-la Louisiane fait la ronde--introduction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drGC88hJQ6Y&feature=related

Vive La Louisiane travailleuse--Dr. Carmen Villegas Rogers of Colombia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYHeanbEzks&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgNITmU0DwA&feature=related

Le Chausson Show - Tom Klingler(A non-Cajun French speaker)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG6dtMhI7uY&feature=related
Visitor   Fri Jan 09, 2009 4:36 am GMT
In 2006, an estimated 10 percent of the state's population are of Hispanic origin, although the 2000 census reported the figure was 8 percent.

Spanish which is spoken by 2.5% of the population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana


JUST ANALYZE THIS INFORMATION AND YOU'LL FIND OUT THAT SPANISH IS BOUND TO DISAPPEAR IN LOUISIANA.
lord   Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:14 am GMT
Bam, a que concretima tu desem mostrat-noum? No chego a comprenter por que um partito di personas di parler franssai denotam que hab importancia? El espaniol atanto no hab importancia, acordo, pero ume 200,000 no em cossa grand, mas em simplema uma rara singularita.
shiv   Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:03 am GMT
Jeez people! Does it really matter? The vast majority of people in Louisiana speak English. English is the only necessary language there.
Shri   Fri Jan 09, 2009 10:36 am GMT
Jeez people! Does it really matter? The vast majority of people in new Mexico speak English. English is the only necessary language there.
shiv   Fri Jan 09, 2009 8:31 pm GMT
Um...why are you copying me? I made is simple (and true) observation. Hello idiot! Louisiana is IN THE U.S. where ENGLISH is the dominate language...as in Louisiana. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THIS SIMPLE FACT? What you stated is outlandishly false of course, and has nothing to do with what I posted.

What? Do you seriously believe that French is a dominate language in LA? You French supporters can get so defensive that you throw facts and logic out the window.

BTW I'm a "white" guy from Minnesota so don't use that weak comeback in calling me a hispanic. Try to answer with facts or if not, then don't answer.