On heritage and baby bottles

It seems unimportant, but the word I used for the title of this post is perfectly representative of an ongoing French debate. France has always taken pride in its Latin roots and often flaunts its lavishly elaborate language. A contested linguistic influence is that of the Anglophone world, i.e. the frequent use of English words to refer to concepts that already have their French formulation. My Literature teacher, for instance, would have insisted I use the expression garde d’enfants instead of the disgustingly American term ‘babysitting’. Yet the reality of language is that the more modern society gets, the more ‘old-wordly’ French set expressions sound. I cannot stand it when people use ‘la Toile’ for the Web, or ‘courriel’ for e-mails. Canadian French, a perfect illustration of this idea, is widely made fun of for its strange-sounding transpositions of basic English terms to French. Although most people will admit that their wacky accent has much to do with it. I just do not get why it is judged ‘fancy’ to use obsolete Latin terms, yet we are forced to banish mainstream, widely-known and understood English words. Surely the beauty of language lies in its constant evolution, and in the fact that it is constantly being enriched and enlivened by an ever-growing vocabulary?

The theme I wanted to explore, call it garde d’enfants or babysitting, now seems kind of trivial next to such a violent debate. I say ‘debate’, but in fact it is just a declaration of war against the Anglophone invader. Every French important figure seems to share the same hatred of the English language – at least the hatred of its presence in everyday French - but then I suppose anyone who supports the opposite suggestion would appear unpatriotic. I understand the French policy of seeking to reinforce French culture and language so as to “reconquer our former grandeur”, but I honestly think that the ‘enemy’ lies elsewhere.

I was meaning to celebrate the fact that babysitting, along with the easy money it brings in, offers the opportunity to cast a glimpse inside the lives of perfect Parisian families, and often is a true social experience. I remember once looking after a two-year-old living in the 10^th arrondissement, whose father belonged to an ancient aristocratic family and who had hung up his family tree above the marital bed, so that the ancestral noms à rallonge* could preside above any profane act of love-making. The daughter had a somewhat ridiculously old-fashioned name. I stopped looking after her when her mother quit working due to pregnancy, and I am curious to know what they are going to call their second child. Having closely studied the aforementioned family tree, things are not looking good for the poor kid. This traditionalist family, wanting la France de l’Ancien Régime** back yet living next to no less than three oriental restaurants (read : kebab shops) in a street full of Chinese clothes stores, is sure to support the reconquête de la langue française.*** Yet in her emails, the mother asks me: “Pourrais-tu babysitter la petite la semaine prochaine?****”, using “to babysit” as a French verb and conjugating it the French way. Blasphemy? Perhaps it is just the beginning of the modernization of French language and culture, and the promise of a mind-broadening embrace of foreign terms, for the reinforcement of a language becoming as colorful as the population that uses it. Pity she does not apply the same rule to her children’s names.

* typical aristocratic names which go on forever. Usually a list of dreadfully old-fashioned first names (at least 3) with a “de” before the last name.

** France before the Revolution, with the division of society in three different classes: the aristocrats, the clergymen and the people.

*** reconquering the French language, a phrase coined by many a politician.

**** “Could you babysit the little one next week?”