If the Italians are notoriously known for their obssession with l’Opéra, the English for their pronounced penchant towards the performing arts, the Germans for their grand amour of la musique classique, then what about the French? Eh bien the French are tout simplement fond of their own language!

What they cherish par-dessus tout (above all) is its singular feature of combining éloquence and clarté (clarity), always delivered with a zestful touch of finesse and élégance.

Rivarol, a famous homme de lettres, had once declared tout de go (without the slightest hesitation) that “Tout ce qui n’est pas clair n’est pas français” (All that is not clear is not French.)

As for l’éloquence, the French view it essentially as a dual art, assimilating oration with persuasion. Oration to stir up l’esthétique de la langue, but also en vue de convaincre les esprits (to convince the minds.)

Ever since their first years of school in France, les écoliers (schoolkids) discover in their manuels scolaires (textbooks) the process of la dialectique: They learn how to argue and present their ideas, starting with la thèse, then l’antithèse, and finally la synthèse. This logical model is definitely de rigueur (both in the French and the English sense) whenever you must write une rédaction (an essay), and students follow it even until they reach the university stage!

The French are also très fiers (very proud) of their “esprit cartésien” (Cartesian mind), named after the philosopher René Descartes, known for his “Je pense, donc je suis” (I think, therefore I am.) You may also remember his name from your early Calculus class days, when your teacher introduced you to the so-called “Cartesian coordinates“, with the X- and Y-axis! Yes, those coordinates (just like the “Cartesian Product“, or “set product”) are named after him. In fact, his last name alone has turned, au fil des siècles (throughout the centuries), into a household name in France, synonymous with logique and no-nonsense précision.

But, beyond latter-day “myths and legends”, a careful study of history would unveil the fact that other French philosophers and mathematicians, almost forgotten in their home country today, such as Fermat, the Bernoulli frères (brothers), or later Galois, deserve more praise than Descartes.

Nevertheless, Descartes’ fame has been so tremendous in people’s minds that he is regarded, rightfully this time, as one of the précurseurs or pionniers (pioneers) of the so-called siècle des Lumières (The Enlightenment), the same century that witnessed la Révolution française.

A rather bloody milestone in French history, the “détournement” (“hijacking”) of this historical event, in many ways, ought be considered as a “Cartesian Product“: Soit dit sans jeu de mot (no pun intended)… or, maybe juste un petit peu (just a little.) 

When there is mention of Les Lumières, one tends to think of the city of Paris, known around the world as la ville des Lumières (the City of Lights)… But does the French capital truly owe its name to all those high-voltage bulbs adorning la Tour Eiffel and l’Arc de Triomphe?

Non, pas vraiment ! The French would certainly be quick to point out to you that, after all, Paris n’est pas Las Vegas ! (Paris is no Vegas!—Notwithstanding the Sin City’s mini replica of the Eiffel Tower.)

The Lumières are en fait mostly to be understood as the intellectual Lights: Philosophers, artists, and hommes de lettres, who have for centuries élu domicile (resided, that is) in the French Capital, enlightening and delighting their seduced readers and “mesmerized” audiences (the Austrian “illusionist” Mesmer was there indeed) with their haute voltige (high fly) éloquence, often during des lectures publiques delivered under eye-dazzling lights of haut voltage !

The French Language: Élégance, Éloquence, Par Excellence! is a post from: French Language Blog