Misplaced Pages

#505494

125-586: The Kanaks ( French spelling until 1984: Canaque ) are the indigenous Melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia , an overseas collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific . Kanak peoples traditionally speak diverse Austronesian languages that belong to the New Caledonian branch of Oceanic . According to the 2019 census, the Kanaks make up 41.2% of New Caledonia's total population – corresponding to around 112,000 people. The other populations are

250-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process

375-543: A Kanak activist. The Kanak independence activists were unhappy with the situation as they felt that France would never allow them independence. A subsequent agreement, the " Nouméa Accord ", was signed between the FLNKS President and the French Government on 5 May 1998, allowing for a degree of autonomy to New Caledonia over a transition period of up to 20 years. A referendum for independence from France

500-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,

625-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and

750-566: A national committee to evaluate progress and prepare New Caledonia for the change in leadership before the planned referendum in 2014. In this appeal, the UC also argued that, according to the Nouméa Accord, it was obligatory for the French government to train and build the capacity of Kanaks to be able to take over the government in 2014 and urged them to respond swiftly. In reality the referendum

875-652: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on

1000-477: A physical link with the invisible world. The Festival des Arts du Pacifique, the Festival of Pacific Arts, is organized every four years. Dancers are trained in traditional dances in special workshops. Welcome dances performed by groups are very popular. Of the various dance forms, the pilou-pilou dance is a unique dance form of the Kanaks, which recounts many stories of the clans. The pilou-pilou dance form of

1125-593: A population of around 50,000 for the whole island. A minimum of 100,000 is more likely, considering the amount of land that can be shown to have been cultivated pre-colonially. This declined to 27,000 during early colonial rule as a result of disease. Kanaks were historically associated with tribes, including the Bwaarhat, Tiendanite, Goa, and Goosana, as well as clans, such as the Poowe. "Most of them are spoken, and because they are taught at school, some of them need to have

1250-509: A referendum on independence would be conducted in July 1985. After the death of Kanak leader Eloi Machoro in 1985, Kanak activists took 27 gendarmes hostage on the island of Ouvéa , igniting a French response (see Ouvéa cave hostage taking ). The Kanak movement proposed a self-government in January 1986. An interim arrangement was announced by Mitterrand who moved to give greater autonomy in

1375-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in

SECTION 10

#1732766056506

1500-587: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and

1625-526: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only

1750-941: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as

1875-458: A small totem pole with symbolic shapes. Music, dance and singing are part of many a Kanak ceremonial function and dances are performed during the traditional Kanak gatherings with the objective of cementing relationships within the clan and with ancestors. The word Kanak (originally spelled Canaque in French) is derived from kanaka maoli , a Hawaiian phrase meaning 'ordinary person' which

2000-485: A standard to be written; the academy can also produce new texts for the teaching of the languages." Jacques Vernaudon, University of New Caledonia linguistics lecturer, 2007 The languages of New Caledonia are very diverse, with French serving as a lingua franca and the official language of New Caledonia. Glottolog recognizes 33 Kanak languages in the island nation, many with distinct dialects. Approximately 60,000 residents of New Caledonia speak at least one of

2125-558: A time when there were reportedly 70,000 Kanaks living in the archipelago. Cook gave the name "New Caledonia" to these islands, named after Caledonia , the traditional name of Scotland . Fifty years later, the Protestants of London Missionary Society came to New Caledonia, which was followed by entry of the French Catholics to the island, in 1843. This resulted in a conflict between the two religious factions and eventually

2250-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in

2375-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French

2500-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English

2625-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given

SECTION 20

#1732766056506

2750-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including

2875-462: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share

3000-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in

3125-503: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English

3250-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from

3375-511: Is now applied to all non-whites, even southern Europeans in some cases, and especially to Turkish immigrants – also derives from the same source. It was originally applied to people from German colonial possessions in Oceania . Melanesian settlement on Grande Terre dates back at least as far as the Lapita culture. The origin of Kanak people is unclear. Obsidian transported from New Guinea

3500-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in

3625-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for

3750-576: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,

3875-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure

Kanak people - Misplaced Pages Continue

4000-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in

4125-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially

4250-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism

4375-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of

4500-462: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as

4625-576: The Caldoche , who are European born in New Caledonia; the Zoreille , who were born in metropolitan France and live in New Caledonia, in addition to about 10% that are non-Kanak Polynesians and 10% that are mixed race. The earliest traces of human settlement in New Caledonia go back to Lapita culture , about 3000 BP , i.e. 1000 BCE . In addition, Polynesian seafarers have intermarried with

4750-604: The Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific 's (CRISP) partnership with CI provided recommendations and underwater species guides to the Kanak people. In 2004, a proposal was put forward to promote the entire coastal region as a World Heritage Site . Further work on this initiative has been pursued by CI's Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, the Coral Reef Initiative for the South Pacific (CRISP), and

4875-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of

5000-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains

5125-559: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,

Kanak people - Misplaced Pages Continue

5250-530: The Hawaiian word kanaka meaning “person, human being” (from Proto-Polynesian * taŋata ). Towards the end of the 19th century, the word Kanaka was used on the plantations of British colonies in the Pacific, referring to the workers who originated from various islands of Oceania . German borrowed the term as Kanake , and assigned it a derogatory meaning referring to a broader array of populations. In

5375-877: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It

5500-596: The Museum of Natural History . After World War II , the Kanak independence movement again picked up momentum when the United Nations placed New Caledonia on its Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories in 1946. A major progression occurred when Kanaks and French settlers in the country obtained voting rights in 1951, shortly before it became an overseas territory of France in 1956. The Kanaks were then also allowed to move out of their reserve areas. This

5625-626: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It

5750-553: The UN "to establish a monitoring and follow-up system for the previous contracts signed between multinationals and municipalities, by drawing on the initiatives of Global Witness and asking the UN to put in place an ad hoc commission in order to protect the wealth of New Caledonia, following the example of what was done for Congo ." The Caledonian Union, one of the political parties within the pro-independence FLNKS group had, in 2010, appealed for

5875-949: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin

6000-510: The 1990s with the efforts of the Agency for Development of Kanak Culture ADCK Art forms in Kanak culture comprise: The ancient Lapita potteries date to 1000 BC. Essentially a women's craft, the pottery is generally decorated with geometric patterns and stylised human faces, although there is variation between northern and southern New Caledonian pottery. The various handles and glazes have pinhole-incised designs made from tooth combs. The pottery

6125-506: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;

6250-836: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed

6375-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French

SECTION 50

#1732766056506

6500-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,

6625-400: The Decolonisation List of Non-Self-Governing Territories. But this resolution did not mitigate the violence as what ensued was more confrontations with the authorities: the " Ouvéa cave hostage taking " resulted in 21 deaths including 19 Kanaks. Following the battle, there was an international outcry that resulted in initiation of talks for settlement between the French government, the Kanaks and

6750-408: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of

6875-416: The French Catholics' control of the islands prevailed. The island nation was thereafter annexed by France, in 1853. During the colonial period, in the 19th century, Kanaks were employed as forced labour , to perform work in places such as Australia , New Zealand , Papua New Guinea , the U.S. state of California , Canada , Chile , Fiji and South Africa . During the 3,000 years that Kanaks lived in

7000-410: The French Government, in collaboration with WWF to assess marine resources used by both Kanak tribes and people of European descent across three coastlines of the Nord Province. Bougna is a traditional Kanak casserole, considered a national food by many Kanaks. It is made of sliced root vegetables which might include taro , manioc , yams and coconut milk. Pork, chicken or seafood may be used in

7125-419: The French government between 1864 and 1897, most of whom settled permanently in the country, and who were employed to extract nickel (beginning with 1864) and copper from 1875 onwards. This caused serious resentment among the Kanaks who revolted in 1878 against the French colonial rule, which was suppressed by the French who were better armed. The Kanak leader was decapitated, and his head was put on display in

7250-425: The French settlers. An agreement called the Matignon Accord followed on 6 November 1988 between the French and the Kanaks, which had the majority support of 80% of the French people. According to the Matignon Accord (or Matignon Agreement) a referendum on independence was proposed to be held by 1998. Two Kanak leaders who signed the agreement, Jean-Marie Tjibaou and Yeiwene Yeiwene, were assassinated on 4 May 1989 by

7375-416: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained

7500-729: The Kanak languages. The Kanak language with the most speakers is Drehu . With the only exception of Fagauvea — which is a Polynesian language spoken on the Loyalty Island of Ouvéa — all Kanak languages belong to the New Caledonian subgroup of Oceanic (itself a branch of the Austronesian phylum). In spite of their shared origin, Kanak languages historically diversified so much as to become mutually unintelligible. New Caledonian languages are divided into several groups. The Northern language group includes 12 languages: Caac , Cemuhî , Fwâi , Jawe , Kumak , Nemi , Paicî , Pije , Pwaamei , Pwapwa , Yalayu , and Yuaga . Five languages have developed lexical tones : Cèmuhî and Paicî from

7625-436: The Kanak leader of the independence movement, had mooted a proposal to set up an Agency for the Development of Kanak Culture (ADCK) . After Tjibaou's assassination in 1989, the French President François Mitterrand ordered that a cultural centre on the lines suggested by Tjibaou be set up in Nouméa , the capital of New Caledonia; it was to be the last of Mitterrand's Grands Projets . The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre

SECTION 60

#1732766056506

7750-448: The Kanaks over the last centuries. New Caledonia was annexed to France in 1853, and became an overseas territory of France in 1956. An independence movement, which led to a failed revolt in 1967, was restarted in 1984, pursuing total independence from French rule. When the 1988 Matignon agreements were signed between the representatives of France and New Caledonia to decide on holding the referendum for independence, Jean-Marie Tjibaou ,

7875-402: The Kanaks, now almost extinct, was so named by the early French missionaries of New Caledonia and involved stomping with bamboo tubes and beating of bark-clappers accompanied by singing in duets with shrieks and whistles of hundreds of dancers. In view of very strong nature of this form of dance, with a trance-like status attained by the dancers, these have been banned; the last such dance reported

8000-424: The Melanesian Kanak people constituted 40.3% (99,078) of the population of 245,580 in New Caledonia. The other groups consist of Europeans (mostly French ) at 29%, Wallisian 9%, people of mixed ancestry (8%), and other groups including Polynesians , Indonesians , Vietnamese and those (believed to be chiefly of European ancestry) who identified simply as "Caledonian." In 1774, Cook landed in Balade and estimated

8125-457: The Pacific's cultural heritage. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are

8250-406: The central part. As it represented the power of the chiefs over their subjects, it was adopted as flag of the Kanaks by the organization leading the independent movement in New Caledonia. The arrow or the spear normally has a needle at the end to insert threaded shells from bottom to top. After the death of a Kanak chief, the fleche faitière is removed and his family takes it to their home. Though it

8375-461: The colony. Prime Minister of France Jacques Chirac stationed troops in the islands and the autonomy issue was shelved. The FLNKS, backed in their campaign for a referendum by regional organizations such as the "Groupe du fer de lance mélanesien" (the Melanesian Spearhead Group ), the Pacific Forum , and the Nonaligned Countries Movement , were successful in getting the UN Resolution 41-41 A of 2 December 1986 passed; it re-inscribed New Caledonia on

8500-411: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Kanake Additionally, it has been a term referring to members of the Black Seminole Nation of Florida who were often categorized as Melungeon or Mulatto, however, it was not considered to be derogatory by the aforementioned population. The word is originally derived from

8625-404: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French

8750-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French

8875-489: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as

9000-517: The filling which is then wrapped in poingo banana leaves before being cooked over hot stones in an earthen oven. Other local ingredients used in Kanak cuisine include Rousettus (flying foxes) and local deer; marine staples such as lagoon and coral reef fish (including dawa ), as well as crabs and lobsters. Paita beans are locally grown haricots , while custard-apple , lime and saffron are other local ingredients. The Kanak arts of sculpture, dance, music and theatre have become more popular since

9125-516: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of

9250-611: The fish stocks are on the decline, and fishing rights in certain areas are strictly observed with respect to locals. Following these beliefs and traditions, Kanak people and Conservation International (CI) have been jointly involved in conserving the ancestral waters and natural resources. According to a rapid assessment survey conducted with help from the Kanaks, 42 coral reefs have been identified for protection near Nord's Mont Pani Province. Its rich biodiversity reserves also include sea cucumbers , molluscs , crustaceans , herrings , groupers , and snappers . Supporting Kanak traditions,

9375-404: The flat crowned face representing the ancestor with a long, the rounded pole run through by conch shells mounted on it that represents the ancestor's voice, and a base with the pole fixed to it to symbolise the link between the clan and the chief. The central piece is also flanked by wooden pieces with sharp points (facing downwards) that are intended to prevent bad spirits enveloping the ancestor in

9500-915: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,

9625-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being

9750-519: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French

9875-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon

10000-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,

10125-479: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what

10250-415: The legs made of coconut leaves, shells and certain fruits. Kanak groups such as Bethela first made the recordings on cassette around 1975 or 1976. Coming from an oral tradition , Kanak knowledge was traditionally passed through poems, legends, and stories. Children's oral history is provided by parents and other relatives who also use tickling and onomatopoeic noise to hold the child's attention. Some of

10375-468: The modern spelling Kanak as a preferred alternative to the old spelling Canaque , which was associated with the colonial period. The new form "kanak" does not inflect grammatically in French: e.g. the plural is “les Kanak” (* les Kanaks is incorrect); “les traditions kanak”, etc. Other words have been coined from Kanak in the past few generations: In German , the racial epithet Kanake — which

10500-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by

10625-495: The northern group, and three languages ( Drubea , Numèè , Kwenyii ) from the Far South. Most of these languages are only used in spoken form. Kanak leader Tjibaou was involved in the establishment of the Écoles populaires kanak , which used local Kanak languages as medium of instruction for spiritual and practical knowledge, while including French and English language classes. Since 2006, pre-school children have been given

10750-635: The notable Kanak authors include Jean-Marie Tjibaou who wrote La Présence Kanak ; Susanna Ounei-Small , a Kanak author from Ouvéa who wrote about the Matignon Accords; and Kaloombat Tein , author of Hwanfalik – Sayings from the Hienghene Valley which provides insight into Hienghène legends and is written in Hienghène, with English language translation. In 1971 the women's association, Smiling Melanesian Village Women's Groups

10875-589: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;

11000-504: The oldest and first ancestor of a later culture that is labelled Kanak?" Still another problem in determining the origin and early history of Kanak people is that the archaeological interpretation is in conflict with the views of Kanak people which have become politicized subsequent to colonial rule. The earliest history of Europeans arriving on these islands is when Captain James Cook of the Kingdom of Great Britain landed in 1774 at

11125-541: The opportunity to learn indigenous Kanak languages. While the Kanak languages have been taught in high schools across the Loyalty Islands and North Province, the language education has not been as common in the more European South Province. The establishment of the Kanak Language Academy (KLA) was a provision of the Nouméa Accord. The Kanaks were known to worship their ancestors . This worship

11250-570: The other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French

11375-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of

11500-399: The particular clan and is embellished with stones and shells. The axe is polished smooth like a disc. Carvings made of soapstone are also popular. A meter in length canes, dated between 1850 and 1920, are used to make an entry into a village or in dance ceremonies. The canes were fired to give black patina over the engraved parts; the engraving designs consist of geometrical real images from

11625-492: The pilou dance, agricultural motifs and village scenes of fishing or building a Grand Hut or case. These were also stuffed with magic herbs to ward off evil spirits. Tapa is a bark cloth made into small pieces, often from banyan trees used to wrap up Kanak ancient bead money. Kanaks living on the islands made canoes out of hollowed–out trunks and large double–hulled outriggers with triangular sails, known as pirogues , traditionally used for fishing. Dances are performed during

11750-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French

11875-564: The remote islands, they were unprepared for the arrival of European viruses and bacteria. The Kanaks were uprooted from the land and were employed as forced labour on French plantations, ranches and public works. When Kanaks were forced to move to reserve areas of the island, closer to the mountains, they occupied only 10 per cent of the area of their ancestral territories given that their population had declined so dramatically due to disease, and their living conditions became very hard. This situation arose consequent to induction of 20,000 convicts by

12000-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in

12125-424: The shape of hawks, ancient gods, serpents and turtles are also popular. The Grand Huts , also known as grande case (chef's hut), are decorated with the filial of fleche faitiere representing the ancestral spirits, symbolic of transition between the world of the dead and the world of the living. The wood carving is shaped like the spear-like carving that adorns the top of the grande case . It comprises three parts;

12250-558: The spirit of Kanak culture of which the Flèche faîtière , which resembles a small totem pole with symbolic shapes, is the most common. A mini Stonehenge -looking religious memorial near the village in L'Île-des-Pins has a display of religious carvings. Other wooden objects include war clubs carved from the strongest wood, made in the form of a phallic head ( casse-tete ), a lethal bird's beak club ( bec d'oiseau ), and spears made from niaouli trees used to burn enemy houses. Wooden carvings in

12375-464: The teeth and an attached segment of soft nerve leaf; coconut-leaf whizzer, a piece of coconut leaf attached to a string and twirled that produces a noise like a humming bee; oboe, made of hollow grass stems or bamboo; end-blown flute, made of 50 cm long hollowed pawpaw leaf stem; bamboo stamping tubes that are struck vertically against the ground and played at major events; percussion instruments (hitting sticks, palm sheaths); rattles that are worn on

12500-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In

12625-482: The traditional Kanak gatherings with the objective of cementing relationships within the clan and with ancestors. Dance is performed in the form of a message or a legend, often related to their daily activities or important events such as birth, marriage, circumcision, the death of a chief and so forth. Dancers paint themselves colourfully to please the ancestors watching over them. Wooden masks made of local materials such as bark, feathers and leaves adorn them representing

12750-405: The traditional beliefs of the Kanak people, the sea is sacred as it provides them with "fish for food", so they treat it with great reverence. The folk stories created by the Kanak people attest to this fact and are also strictly followed as unwritten laws. Some of the important aspects of the oral laws relate to environmental protection and conservation, such as the closure of fishing operations when

12875-679: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French

13000-568: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by

13125-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of

13250-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of

13375-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as

13500-403: Was allowed to be used again as a sign of respect it is normally kept at burial grounds of noted citizens or at the mounds of abandoned grand houses. Stone carvings made of jade or serpentinite are in the form of ceremonial axe representing clan's strength and power. These were used to behead enemies during war and during ancestor celebrations known as Pilou. The bottom of the handle represents

13625-646: Was at one time applied indiscriminately by European colonisers, traders and missionaries in Oceania to any non-European Pacific islander. Kanaka in Hawaiian descends from the Proto-Polynesian root * taŋata meaning 'person', a root which is not used in New Caledonian languages . Prior to European contact, there were no unified states in New Caledonia, and no single self-appellation used to refer to its inhabitants. In 1984, Melanesian leaders adopted

13750-534: Was delayed until 2018 and its result was to remain with France, by a 56% majority. Two repeat referendums were held in 2020 , and 2021 , in which voters rejected independence, despite protests by some Kanaks. New Caledonia or Territoire des Nouvelle-Caledonie et Dependances , is approximately 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) off the northeast coast of Australia. Of its 500 islands, the five main ones are inhabited, are spread across an area 30 miles (48 km) wide and over 250 miles (400 km) in length. As of 2009,

13875-819: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but

14000-554: Was embodied in the sepulchre , sacred stones, and devotional hearths where they offered sacrifices. Today, most Kanaks are Christians . Religion is an important aspect of Kanak culture. The Catholic church in Nouméa is attended by Kanaks, who form nearly 50% of the population of Catholics in New Caledonia (next only to the Europeans). Also, the majority of Protestants are Kanaks. Some Kanaks follow traditional beliefs. According to

14125-507: Was established in 1984. This forum refused to participate in elections to the Territorial Assembly and even declared its own Provincial Government; it met with opposition by the French. FLNKS "organized a boycott of the territorial elections in New Caledonia, smashing ballot boxes and setting up roadblocks to prevent people from voting." The FLNKS persisted with their agitation and unilaterally announced on 7 January 1985 that

14250-582: Was followed by the establishment of the Territorial Assembly in 1957, but this was short-lived; Charles de Gaulle abolished it after he became the President of France , in 1958. In 1981 the movement for Independence began, following the murder of Pierre Declercq , the secretary general of the Caledonian Union ( French : Union calédonienne , UC) on 19 September 1981. A national forum titled " Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak Socialiste" (FLNKS)

14375-572: Was formally established in May 1998. Although ancient Lapita potteries date back to 1000 BC, and the people of the island have long been involved in the arts, since the establishment of the ADCK , Kanak arts and crafts have become more popular in New Caledonia . Wooden carvings in the shape of hawks, ancient gods, serpents and turtles are popular as is flèche faîtière , a carving which resembles

14500-490: Was formed and advocated the idea of a cultural festival to promote Kanak arts. As a result of this movement the first festival of Melanesian arts, " Melanesia 2000 ", was held in Nouméa in September 1975, supported by Jean-Marie Tjibaou. Kanak arts festivals became popular with two international events held early in the 1990s that created the awareness of Kanak arts. The first exhibition of modern-day wood sculptors and painters

14625-585: Was found with the earliest New Caledonian Lapita pottery. In addition, some researchers have claimed there is evidence of New Caledonian human habitation dating from 3000 BC (predating Lapita culture by 1500 years), while others claim to have found pre-Lapita pottery. At the Fourth Lapita Conference, held in June 2000, in Canberra , Australia, the question was posed: "Is Lapita Kanak, or is Lapita

14750-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul

14875-514: Was held at Ko i Neva, which was also published as contemporary Kanak arts. This was followed by a large exhibition of Kanak arts in Paris known as "De Jade et de Nacre – Patrimoine Artistique Kanak (Jade and Mother of Pearl – Kanak Artistic Heritage". The Centre Cultural Tjibaou also stages occasional art exhibitions. A popular quadrennial event is the Festival of Pacific Arts where the indigenous people of all Pacific nations and people gather to display

15000-569: Was held in 2018. Progressive changes that were expected of this agreement were in the local political control and structure; the Kanaks would have greater say over internal and regional affairs while France would retain sovereign rights including control over military and foreign affairs. In a speech made before the Fourth Commission of the United Nations on 10 October 2005, the FLNKS Vice President, Léopold Jorédié , urged

15125-500: Was in 1951. Music, dance and singing are part of many a Kanak ceremonial function such as initiation, courting and mourning. Conch shells are blown by an appointed person to represent a clan chief's arrival or the voice of an ancestor. Rhythm instruments used include Bwanjep, used during ceremonies by a group of men; Jew's harp , ( wadohnu in the Nengone language where it originated) made of dried piece of coconut palm leaf held between

15250-652: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates

15375-448: Was made from clay deposits found in the islands. Painting is a recent art form common among women artists. Famous artists include Yvette Bouquet from Koumac who has produced paintings with Pacific and Oceania themes, Paula Boi, whose paintings are of more abstract scenes, and Denise Tuvouane and Maryline Thydjepache who use mixed art forms. Bus stop shelters are common places where their paintings are illustrated. Wood sculpture represents

15500-594: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of

15625-570: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,

#505494