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The French Language

In today's excerpt--the language of the French nation. With the arrival of the 18th and 19th centuries came the rise of the "nation" in a sense not previously seen in Europe. This nationalism--which was to be achieved through a common language and a common sense of identity and purpose--was needed in part as a replacement for the divine right of kings and the unifying influence that it had long provided. As Graham Robb's book The Discovery of France shows, this new nationalism came more readily in large cities than in remote villages in the period following the Revolution:

"Again and again, Robb shows how the centralizing ambitions of the metropolis were thwarted by peoples who barely considered themselves to be 'French' and did not even speak the language.

" 'O Oc Si Bai Ya Win Oui Oyi Awe Jo Ja Oua' is the title of one of Robb's chapters--just a few of the many words for 'Yes' in the micro-dialects of France. In 1794, the Abbe Gregoire sent out a questionnaire to town halls asking how patois--which the Encyclopedie defined as 'corrupt language as spoken in almost all the provinces'--could be destroyed. His survey revealed that France contained a mere 3 million pure French-speakers, 11 percent of the population. More than 6 million were in total ignorance of the French language. The abbe found this alarming. 'In liberty, we are the advance-guard of nations. In language, we are still at the Tower of Babel.' He followed this up with a report, 'The Necessity and Means of Exterminating Patois and Universalizing the Use of the French language'. To the abbe, the Babel of patois was dangerous because it undermined patriotism. How could there possibly be a nation without a common language?

" 'O Oc Si Bai Ya Win Oui Oyi Awe Jo Ja Oua' is the title of one of Robb's chapters--just a few of the many words for 'Yes' in the micro-dialects of France. In 1794, the Abbe Gregoire sent out a questionnaire to
town halls asking how patois--which the Encyclopedie defined as 'corrupt language as spoken in almost all
the provinces'--could be destroyed. His survey revealed that France contained a mere 3 million pure French-speakers, 11 percent of the population. More than 6 million were in total ignorance of the French language. The abbe found this alarming. 'In liberty, we are the advance-guard of nations. In language, we are still at the Tower of Babel.' He followed this up with a report, 'The Necessity and Means of Exterminating Patois and Universalizing the Use of the French language'. To the abbe, the Babel of patois was dangerous because it undermined patriotism. How could there possibly be a nation without a common
language?

"Reading Robb, one is left suddenly uncertain as to whether France ever really was a complete nation, at
least until the early twentieth century. Even in 1863, a quarter of army recruits spoke only patois. As late as
1880, only a fifth of the population was entirely at ease in the French language. And this linguistic alienation
went hand in hand with a hostility to the idea of France itself. The abbe was right to have been worried. In
Gascony and Provence, they spoke contemptuously of the 'Franchiman' and the 'Franciot', by which they
meant the people from the north [of France]. Elsewhere, Robb depicts fierce local communities in
which there was violent prejudice both against visitors and against neighboring settlements. In the early
1740s, a cartographer taking part in the Cassini mission to make for the first time a reliable map of
France was hacked to death in a tiny village in the Massif Central called Les Estables. A savage and
irrational act? Not according to Robb, who argues that these people 'were defending themselves against an
act of war'. To be mapped out was eventually, over time, to be phased out of existence."

Bee Wilson, "The Truth is Out There," a review of Graham Robb's new book The Discovery of France in The Times Literary Supplement, January 4, 2008, p. 13.

http://www.delanceyplace.com/

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Or rather...

According to a researcher (sic) at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without problem. This is because the human mind does not read every letter by itself but the word as a whole.

http://www.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/~mattd/Cmabrigde/index.html

" I've written this page, to try to explain the science behind this meme. There are elements of truth in this, but also some things which scientists studying the psychology of language (psycholinguists) know to be incorrect. I'm going to break down the meme, one line at a time to illustrate these points, pointing out what I think is the relevant research on the role of letter order on reading. Again, this is only my view of the current state of reading research, as it relates to this meme"

The Jumbler

Denlnoi Dddioorl / Itsntieenrg Lnkis

http://www.stevesachs.com/jumbler.cgi?type=show&message=Dolenni+Diddorol+%2F+Interesting+Links

Linux PC Models Multiply As Vista Struggles

"Until recently, Linux PCs were about as easy to find in stores as a vinyl record. Now, personal computers with the Linux operating system pre-installed are becoming more readily available, thanks to new models from upstarts and established PC makers -- and disappointment withMicrosoft (NSDQ: MSFT)'s new Windows Vista OS."

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205604334

IBM Translates Lotus Symphony for a Globally Integrated World

" Downloaded for use in English by more than 400,000 individuals at work and at home, IBM's (NYSE: IBM) Lotus Symphony suite (www.ibm.com/software/lotus/symphony) of desktop office software is now available in 24 languages serving major markets worldwide."

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0350350.htm

FOSSology: Track Open Source Software Within Your Company

"Hewlett-Packard has launched the FOSSology Project, a tool for tracking and monitoring the use of free and open-source software within an IT environment. The FOSSology Project is a Free Open Source Software (FOSS) project built around an open and modular architecture for analyzing software. Existing modules include license analysis, meta data extraction, and MIME type identification. This open source software tool analyzes a given set of software packages, and reports items such as the software licenses used by these packages."

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/hp-fossology-project.html

http://fossology.org/

Germans send teen tearaway to Siberia

"The German authorities have packed off a violent 16-year-old youth to fend for himself in a remote Siberian village in the hope the "intensive educational experience" will cure him of his anti-social tendencies."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/18/siberian_boot_camp/

Iranian Calendar Converter

"The Iranian calendar (also known as Persian calendar or the Jalaali Calendar) is a solar calendar currently used in Iran and Afghanistan. It is observation-based, rather than rule-based, beginning each year on the vernal equinox as precisely determined by astronomical observations from Tehran."

http://www.iranchamber.com/calendar/iranian_calendar_converter.php

Store your Books in the Rafters

"We were charmed to the core over this ingenius book storage idea. Yes, these are just planks of painted plywood nailed to the supports for the loft above. They create perfect cubby spaces to store books, baskets and even small lights."

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/look/look-store-your-books-in-the-rafters-039700