Keeping French Alive

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/opinion/keeping-french-alive.html

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To the Editor:

Re “A Dreaded School Test in France Becomes a Tool of Integration” (Fontenay-sous-Bois Journal, May 12):

Several factors contribute to the necessity of retaining the dreaded dictation (dictée) as an essential tool in teaching the French language. The fact that its spelling is still rooted in old French while its pronunciation has evolved over the centuries, together with its plethora of both silent letters and homonyms, makes context in a sentence the determiner of which word spelling is correct.

To decide whether the proper word is saint (saint), sein (breast), sain (healthy), seing (signed, as in a signature), ceins or ceint (forms of the verb “to surround”), all of which are pronounced the same, you need the context for meaning. To determine whether you should write étais, était, étaient, été (past-tense forms of the verb “to be”) or étés (summers), all sound-alikes, you need the grammatical context.

Recurring efforts to modernize French orthography, including the recent storm (tempête) over partial suppression of the circumflex, inevitably provoke heated resistance from historical protectionists. It’s heartening to see a program that turns this dreaded but still unavoidable tool into a fun and inclusive experience for all.

BRUCE DOLLAR

Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.

The writer, a former French teacher, has lived and worked in France.