parsifal
Colonel
so, was napoleon a net positive, or a net negative for french achievement?
France, My country,My Fatherland
- Thread starter François le Français
- Start date
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michaelmaltby
Colonel
Since the topic on this thread is La France - terre paternal - 
And since we are basking in agreement - at the moment -
I put it to you - that everything characteristic about France is reflected in the French preoccupation with language - la belle langue francaise.
We see it in Canada. Not just language - every little detail of life and political life.
French preoccupation is with perfect language - with official language police overseers of meaning and correct usage - L' Acadamie Francais - speaks to precise form over substance. Languages are living organisms - they evolve to reflect what people are experiencing - and for a culture to just accept that kind of word policing control - illustrates dillusion IMHO.
So - with those thoughts about language in mind:
When the Normans invaded the Isles in 1066 they had been Frenchmen for about 100 years (GoT) - they were Normans - Norse before that. Just like the Norse cousins they came across the Chanel to Conquer in 1066. Yet they thrust French and Frenchness on the British populations with violence and zeal - they purged the governing classes and ultimately created an unreal world with French being the High language of government and salon; with Anglo Saxon (or Gaelic, or Celt) being the Low language(s) of the barnyard and the servants. In short order - a few hundred years later Wm Shakespeare emerged - and a great flowering of English literature .
And, yes I've watched Molierre - he wrote great farce comedy for the amusement of the ladies and clever gentlemen. Shakespeare wrote for the unwashed and washed masses in the street - that hungered for well-turned spectacle and tales of glory and intrigue.
I put it to you - the history of modern England is reflected in how the British (as they came to be known) absorbed the Frenchification imposed after 1066 - and went on to evolve as a world commercial power and global langua franca. No similar event occurred in France - altho the Russian Occupation cavalry troops did introduce Le Bistro to Paris [origin of fast food]. (1940 to 1943 is off limits in this discussion).
Still - despite being ' a-retentive ' about language, French - and French culture - continues to be attractive and persuasive to people around the world - triumph of form and function.. I just don't get it and then I see .....
The Dassault Rafels in Libya today,.
MM
PS - Parsifal. 100% net positive. He came from The Army - the one sector that had and respected discipline. (Interesting parallels with Ataturk and the post-1918 Turkish state)
And since we are basking in agreement - at the moment -
I put it to you - that everything characteristic about France is reflected in the French preoccupation with language - la belle langue francaise.
We see it in Canada. Not just language - every little detail of life and political life.
French preoccupation is with perfect language - with official language police overseers of meaning and correct usage - L' Acadamie Francais - speaks to precise form over substance. Languages are living organisms - they evolve to reflect what people are experiencing - and for a culture to just accept that kind of word policing control - illustrates dillusion IMHO
.So - with those thoughts about language in mind:
When the Normans invaded the Isles in 1066 they had been Frenchmen for about 100 years (GoT)
- they were Normans - Norse before that. Just like the Norse cousins they came across the Chanel to Conquer in 1066. Yet they thrust French and Frenchness on the British populations with violence and zeal - they purged the governing classes and ultimately created an unreal world with French being the High language of government and salon; with Anglo Saxon (or Gaelic, or Celt) being the Low language(s) of the barnyard and the servants. In short order - a few hundred years later Wm Shakespeare emerged - and a great flowering of English literature .And, yes I've watched Molierre
- he wrote great farce comedy for the amusement of the ladies and clever gentlemen. Shakespeare wrote for the unwashed and washed masses in the street - that hungered for well-turned spectacle and tales of glory and intrigue.I put it to you - the history of modern England is reflected in how the British (as they came to be known) absorbed the Frenchification imposed after 1066 - and went on to evolve as a world commercial power and global langua franca. No similar event occurred in France - altho the Russian Occupation cavalry troops did introduce Le Bistro to Paris
[origin of fast food]. (1940 to 1943 is off limits in this discussion).Still - despite being ' a-retentive ' about language, French - and French culture - continues to be attractive and persuasive to people around the world - triumph of form and function.
. I just don't get it and then I see .....The Dassault Rafels in Libya today,
.MM
PS - Parsifal. 100% net positive. He came from The Army - the one sector that had and respected discipline. (Interesting parallels with Ataturk and the post-1918 Turkish state)
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Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Yup! The vikings regrouped as the Normands and returned to the UK..... 
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Personally, I prefer to blame the Swiss for everything. 
