Did you know that Alsatian is the third autochthonous (native) language in France in terms of speakers, after French and Occitan? It is spoken in the main part of the Alsace region, which is located in northeastern France and is bordered by Germany. The language has no official status, though, since French is the only official language in France. However, Alsatian is taught in Alsace schools. Read on to find more about Alsace and Alsatian and why its not recognized as France’s official language!
Alsace and Alsatian
Alsatian is an Indo-European language, which means it derives from proto-Indo-European, a language spoken around 5000 BC from the North Sea to the Caspian Sea, and from the Elbe to the Volga. That language evolved over the centuries and divided into several branches, which finally gave birth to Germanic, Romance, and Slavic languages, among others. Alsatian belongs to the Germanic language family, which appeared around 500 BC.
Brief History of Alsace and Alsatian
Before the 5th century, Italic and Celtic languages were spoken in Alsace, since it was part of the Roman Empire and Celtic peoples lived there. Around 400 AD, Germanic tribes invaded Alsace, leading to a Germanic dialect becoming the new majority language in Alsace. By the 9th century, this dialect evolved towards Old High German which later gave birth to Alsatian. The 842 Oaths of Strasbourg were written in that language. During the centuries that followed, Alsatian developed as Alsace was a dynamic German region and played a key role in spreading Humanism or Renaissance ideas. Between 1648 and 1940, Alsace was successively incorporated to France and then back again to Germany. Alsace permanently became a French region in 1945. With these French annexations, French became more and more widely spoken, but for most people Alsatian was still their mother tongue. However, by 1945, Alsace had stopped identifying itself as German. This can be explained by all the crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II. Many people began associating Germany with Nazism, and consequently Alsatians preferred to identify themselves as French people.
Today
As stated above, Alsatian is not recognized as an official language in France. Since 1945, the number of speakers has dramatically decreased, especially since the 1970s, with the booming of television and the campaigns to promote French. Today, it is spoken by around 700,000 people. Even though some efforts have been made to reintroduce it (in schools, for instance), it is mainly spoken by older people, and generally the younger generation only speaks French.
Example of Alsatian poetry and translation into English
Here is a little hymn to Alsace, but there are others!
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Alsatian |
English |
| Des Elsass unser Landel des esch min eidi schen.
Mer hewes fescht am Bandel un lon’s minsext net gehn. Huch heh! Un lon’s minsext net gehn.
|
This Alsace, our small land, it is really beautiful.
We hold it back firmly with the ribbon and do not let go of it on any account Hurrah! We do not let go of it on any account.
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