Celebrating the diversity of French language and culture

On a rainy night in Canberra, an assemblage of French-speaking and French language and culture appreciators gathered at the Australian National University (ANU) to celebrate regional French.

The event "Do you speak regional French?" was held during Francophonie Week 2022, and organised by the Francophonie Committee in Canberra in partnership with the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. One of its aims was fostering awareness of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, which was spoken about across the event.

Representatives from the Francophonie Committee were guest speakers, including Her Excellency Mrs Caroline Bichet-Anthamatten, Ambassador of Switzerland; Ms Isabelle Martin, Deputy Head of Mission, High Commission of Canada; Mr Arnaud Dusaucy, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Canberra; Dr Yves Lafoy, Counsellor, Official Representative of New Caledonia to Australia, Embassy of France; and Ms Agustina Camilli, Counsellor, Embassy of Uruguay.

Sébastien Monnet, the Science, Technology and Education Advisor with the Embassy of Switzerland, chaired the event alongside Dr Solène Inceoglu, Senior Lecturer in French at the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics.

Ambassador Bichet-Anthamatten opened the event, acknowledging tragedies occurring nationally and internationally, natural and man-made, and the role a common language has to play in connecting otherwise diverse communities.

“War is again in the heart of Europe and on all of our minds. Many countries, including my own, Switzerland, have taken a clear position condemning this invasion,” Ambassador Bichet-Anthamatten said. 

“Events such as tonight's conference, and the Francophonie Week, do matter even more so in such troubled times. 

“They allow us not only to share our sorrows and worries that as I just did, but also to exchange ideas on how to unite around one of the most extraordinary achievements of humankind: language.”

During the event, both Ambassador Bichet-Anthamatten and Dr Inceoglu explained to the audience the difference between ‘Francophonie’ with a capital F and with a lowercase f.

“…'francophonie' with a small F refers to the people around the world who share a common language: French,” said Dr Inceoglu. “Francophonie with the capital F refers to the institutional framework that organizes relations between the Francophone countries.”

Both Dr Inceoglu and diplomatic representatives referenced the way that having French as a common language has enabled cooperation on a number of fronts between countries, and how Francophone countries are also united by their shared values of democracy, rule of law, human rights, and multiculturalism.

There were many moments of levity during the evening, as the diplomatic representatives took turns sharing terms of French vernacular and colloquialisms from their countries and regions. Half of the proceedings were conducted in French and, befitting the evening, in a variety of French accents.

Attendees were encouraged to participate in the live quiz that was interspersed amongst the presentations. The quiz challenged participants on their knowledge of the French language spoken in different regions of the world, and on other topics related to the Francophonie. Participation was via an online platform, and attendees took great delight submitting their answers using their phones and seeing the correct answer displayed on the venue screen moments afterwards.

At the conclusion of the event, the four attendees who performed the best in the quiz were awarded prizes donated by the embassies.


Written by Evana Ho