School systems in French Polynesia and New Caledonia are attempting to revitalize vernacular languages that were suppressed under French colonialism.

Pardon my French—but French imperialism is still potent as hell. With a colonial record that spans continents and centuries, France has imprinted itself in a number of societies as a cultural “first class.” As a result, its expansionist legacy is an ongoing one of neocolonialism-gone-well: twenty-nine countries are those of Francophones, French is one of the world’s favorite lingua francas, and a few overseas territories still sit under its political rule.

A correlation between speaking French and being a good citizen is a particularly permeating after-effect of colonialization, often informed by oppression and reinforced by elitism. Languages are, typically, a medium through which cultural identity is channeled. But because they’re a symbol of political community as well, they’re often quelled—either directly or indirectly—by a metropole to establish and maintain power. For this reason, decolonization efforts often struggle around the topic of languages—to challenge a language is an ontological and gargantuan undertaking.

For some states, challenging such linguistic canons is not a matter of when—but how. Since the 1970s, school systems in French Polynesia and New Caledonia have been asked to “open their doors to vernacular languages in response to the rise of indigenous identity claims,” writes linguist Jacques Vernaudon. In both territories (both are “overseas collectivities” of France, though New Caledonia has special status in terms of citizenship rights), French is the official language, and not much has been done in the way of teaching local languages. However, time is ticking—and revitalizing these languages is a generational urgency.

Through the decades, a number of families have slowly forgotten their Oceanic languages. And while “one can argue that some young parents are turning to school to ensure the linguistic transmission of heritage languages that they themselves are unable to pass on because they feel they are not sufficiently fluent,” writes Vernaudon, “it is also the belief that French is the ‘language of success’ that leads parents to make the choice not to prioritize transmitting their heritage language(s).”

read more: https://daily.jstor.org/decolonizing-the-language-of-overseas-france/