In 1789, the French ceased to be subjects of the king and became citizens. The Revolution proclaimed freedom and equality under the law and set out to profoundly transform society.
But for this revolution to take root, citizens first had to know their new rights and understand the new laws.
Yet at the end of the 18th century, France did not speak a single language. In many regions, people spoke Breton, Occitan, Basque, Alsatian, Corsican… or a multitude of local varieties that revolutionaries called “patois.”
A crucial question therefore arose: how could the new ideas and new rights be spread throughout the country?
The Revolution would gradually make French the language of citizenship, laws, and the Nation. But this drive for unification came at the expense of regional languages.
In this video, we explore this history: from the French Revolution to Abbé Grégoire’s survey, including the efforts to make French the common language of the Nation.
