THE ENGLISH TONGUE IN FRANCE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 237, 1 July 1919, Page 7

THE ENGLISH TONGUE IN FRANCE

STUDY AND CRITICISM POPULAR WITH THE FRENCH (By ft-'Correspondent of the London \\j'' "Observer.") Commeiil'ing on the study of the French language in England and on tho work of the Anglq'rl'i'ciich- Society in fostering the iutellectuiil and artistic relationship between tlje ; two countries,- Mr. (J. D. Henry suggested, in "The Observer" of March !23,i \. that an organisation on similar lineS should be established in France. .Such a' q'tep would be the natural corollary of! the society, which is doing such admirablol work in London and in many provincial cities in Great Britain. _ It would-Certainly have the effect ofj bringing into' close and friendly contact a large liufobor of French people who are already tonversant with live English language, and literature. An Englishman would Im probably surprised at the number of French people who can speak English fluently and correctly- Yet, after all,' thoi phenomenon' should cause no such -very- great, astonishment, as it is an old .'tradition which draws, and,has drawn -for many generations, the young and enterprising spirits in France towards England. It .must be borne. in mind-ffiat jt was Voltaire and the Encyclopedists who brought Shakespeare to the- knowledge of the French people, and implanted'in-the French rajnd those ideas which; ultimately matured in the Revolution. ' ''

For many years the study of English literature has been popular in Franca. That there exists in France a large public who'are able to read and understand English, just as there exists in England a largo public who can read and understand French, is clearly demonstrated by the . success of. the' "'Anglo-French Review," an organ of opinion which ■ contains articles written in English or French, acoording to the nationality of the author; and which circulates in many thousands among the educated public of both countries.

' The Teaching of English. In the scheme of French secondary education English plays an important part, 'being one of the modern languages which it is. obligatory on-the pupil to include in his .'course- of study. It is taught in the ly'Ceos and colleges, und also figures in the syllabus prescribed in the case ot students' preparing' for their baccalaurint and the learned professions,' while tho study of English literature and of tho political and economic history of Great Britain' takes an early and important place in French educational curricula. ,

People who entertain the notion that tliu teaching of English in French schools is curried out on the system beloved of Berlitii would bo greatly surprised if they went into a classroom when'a lesson was in progress. They would discover that the teacher's ideas ware far . from being merely iitilitarian; .they would find that he was at pains to hold, up to the) admiration of his pupil all the richness of the English language,' its expressiveness, its,picturesijueness, its .flexibility; to point out the appositeness of this or that phrase, to draw attention to the neatness and elegance of a given sentence,'and to make his pupils realise and understand its beauty. Nor is that aill. French people read English, and though a beginning is usually made with tlio moral .tales of tlio3o irreproachable maiden ladies, Hiss Edgeworth and-Miss Montgomery, these aro soon dispensed with in favour of works that hold a high place in literature, such as .Lamb's "Tales 'from _ Shakespeare," Dickens's "Christmas Stories," the comedics of <Goldsmith and Sheridan, George Eliot 'and Tennyson, Thackeray __ ami Browning, even Swinburne and Kip.ing. The reading of works such as the above is mado' the occasion for remarks on the English national character and on England's role in history. What is remarkable is that it is always taken for granted' by the pupils that the teacher is an Anglophil. The explanation of this is that England represents two qualities which jtho young admire .in a pre-eminent degree?,'-|Vfe'., s - strength 'and v freedom, and to.^tlies.Ct';lt-txjpQL add -two j 'more,-: loyalty. fiii'd); '^feiioi : bsi ty- : ' ■: 11, j3 ; ■ l>y' stU tly iiip" the •ißri.tialV/iEiiipire/'that .the .young FreuchIjik'iHVi'lb'inforces ! iis,!.fcnowlfcdge.of Europo ;?ahd ; {the' world ,at, - 'It. is his con.tactVitb.Englandi'thnt bis yiews ;and:i6yijwgi?.s ..thevhorizon of his political opinions and-ideas. .

; V of Criticism. Nowadays critics are.of opinion that-Anglo-Saxon '. countries apart—the study of English literature, attains its highest level, in France. Those who express this viow, although few of them have attended language classes in France, base their opinion on tho .critical and expository works''published by. French university men. At tho first blush it might appear that the interest 'evinced in France for tho works of British, writers was of comparatively recent date, but in point of tact it is part and parcel of the traditional,desire which has always ex:stcd in the minds of French students and scholars—llie desire, namely, to be acquainted with all that is going forward in the world of thought on the other side (f the Channel. During the first half of the nineteenth century every ■woU-edu;atod Frenchman read the works of Scott and Byron. There were translations of Sliateueare and of the majority of the groat English classics, and the volumes of the famous Collection Panco.icko brought hour 9 of unforgettable delight to thousands upon thousands. After Scott and Byron came Dickens, Thackeray, nnd the sisters Bronte and c-en Carlyle. In 1881 a fresh impetus to the critical study of English literature was given by the publication of M. Boljame's famous treatise on "Le public et les :hommes .da. lettres en Angleterre, au XVIIIe siecle"—a field of research which was undoubtedly suggested by the-works of M. Tainc. in the last' twenty years the majority of candidates for. the Doctorate of Letters in French universities have ,selected English subjects for (heir theses.

, To givo anything approaching a full list-of tlio works on English literature that have been published in France, even during the last decade, would make too great demands on our space. At least fifty works of conspicuous importance occur, at once to our mind. An examination of these works will show how tlioii' authors have attempted to reconcile tho two methods of criticism and to satisfy With the scholar and the man of. letters. How far success has crowned iheir efloris may be open to question. But the question has. been answered in the affirmative in many cases, and. by some of the most competent judges, in England aul elsewhere, ,

The Common Ideals. The French are often reproached with losing sight of facts and of allowing themselves to become involved in a haze of .generalities. Such -a charge certainly could not justly be levelled against the author of the works of criticism in question. A Frenchman has a respect for the truth, however disagreeable it may be or however trifling it may appear. But he endeavours to fit it in with the genoral plan of the natural and moral world; it enables him to seo better and to see farther. He is equally, careful to avoid flights of fancy for which the reader has not been duly prepared, as those dreary enumerations which bring weariness but no light. Especially does he endeavour to create not merely a learned work, but n work harmonious in all its parts. Tims, long, before the war, France was cultivating close intellectual relations with England. II must bo seen to that they continue and develop. H must, above all. lie made clear that it is not indispensable for the "lionnete hnmme" —to give the old French signification to that phriise—to po to Germany In complete his education. All that will come of itself, is the sort of thing one is told on every hnml. Maybe, but, nevertheless;'it behoves us !o assist it in every possible way. The Entente Cordinle was born' of peace, and was brought about with the object of maintaining peace. It leprwents the triumph of mind wrought through tho agency of the intellect. It reposes on the love, shared by both countries alike, of liberty and justice—for individuals as well as for peoples—and 011 the .maintenance of harmony in our national interests, with due regard to the rights of humanity in gonernl. It is with this, reverence for tho same ideal that' Franco and England are entering upon a new chapter in their common history!