Harper and the Francophonie

[Colin Parkinson]

I suspect Harpers ratings just went up on his performance in the Francophone summit, he held firm, but gave enough room for his opponents to come to the table, shows he is learning to play the big game, very impressed. 

 

[jimb]

Just a minor point.........Why was the Francophone summit held in Romania? I didn't think that Romania was a french speaking nation ?

JimB.

 

[vonGarvin]

Just a minor point.........Why was the Francophone summit held in Romania? I didn't think that Romania was a french speaking nation ?

JimB.

The Francophonie is not just francophone nations, but rather nations with a heritage of the usage of French.  Apparently at one time Romania was quite the place to speak French, and it was widely taught, although that slipped to German, then Russian, then English over the years.  They maintain "contact" with the Francophonie for whatever reason.

 

[Haggis]

The Francophonie is not just francophone nations, but rather nations with a heritage of the usage of French.  Apparently at one time Romania was quite the place to speak French, and it was widely taught, although that slipped to German, then Russian, then English over the years.  They maintain "contact" with the Francophonie for whatever reason.

MINOR THREAD HIJACK ALERT​

Some former Russian republics also used French as the language of the former (pre-Soviet) ruling classes.  I worked with Moldovan soldiers in 2002 and had an easy time communicating with their officers in my high-school French.  From what they said, the Moldovan Army officer corps uses French quite extensively.

MINOR THREAD HIJACK ALERT TERMINATED.​

 

[vonGarvin]

MINOR THREAD HIJACK ALERT​

Some former Russian republics also used French as the language of the former (pre-Soviet) ruling classes.  I worked with Moldovan soldiers in 2002 and had an easy time communicating with their officers in my high-school French.  From what they said, the Moldovan Army officer corps uses French quite extensively.

MINOR THREAD HIJACK ALERT TERMINATED.​

Moldova=Romania prior to 1941 (?)

 

[Kirkhill]

Continuing the Hijacking

I believe that France has always had a fairly strong commercial influence in Russia, Ukraine etc (at least since the Crimean War period).  While the Brits were investing in India and the Americas the French were investing in Africa and Russia. It seems to me that a lot of the pre-revolutionary industry was built with French capital.

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

Also worthwhile pointing out, the common use of French as the language of diplomacy during the 16th - 19th Centuries, literally the lingua franca.

 

[Haggis]

Moldova=Romania prior to 1941 (?)

Yep.  The Moldovans were quick to distance themselves from the Romanians, though.

Interesting that the societal elite in Moldova held onto their French while the Romanians did not.  However Romania's French language history also explains why many refugees settled in Québec (as my in-laws did) following WW2.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

Bah - it is getting so that anyone can join - all they need to do is a) tolerate the French, and b) hate the Americans.

Sounds like a counterweight to the Anglosphere to me - and reminds me of my favourite rejoinder to the oft-heard "colonial" comments when I was on exchange with the Brits:

"I'd rather be an ex-colony than an ex-empire"