THE LINGUISTIC PLURALISM IN THE FIFTH FRENCH REPUBLIC

Abstract

The contribution analyzes the introduction of linguistic pluralism in the Constitution of the Fifth French Republic, with the constitutional changes from July 2008. With the enactment of the amendment 75-1, the Republic of France constitutionally recognizes that its population speaks not only French, but also number of regional languages and that regional languages are part of the French cultural heritage. This constitutional intervention is novelty in the way how the language and linguistic pluralism issues were treated in the previous constitutional developments of the French Republic. As any other novelty this one too comes about after overcoming numerous and strong resistances and controversies. The contribution presents the key moments and agents of the traditional French linguistic policy and in connection with it the proponents and opponents of linguistic pluralism, the main phases of the process of identification, recognition, and regulation of the linguistic pluralism, as well as the main characteristics of the constitutional solution adopted in July 2008.