While in second grade in the 1970s, Marie-Jeanne discovered that the "
patois
" she spoke with her parents was a language: Occitan.
Since then, she has dedicated her life to promoting it.
After an aggregation in modern letters, she became a school teacher.
She teaches students “
like her
” the beauty of this language.
To read also: "No, the law on regional languages does not threaten the unity of the Republic!"
Like others, Marie-Jeanne wishes to extend the immersive school to the public school. For the moment, the immersion concerns associative establishments and some public schools on an experimental basis. The bill by Pierre Molac (LREM), MP for Morbihan, went in this direction. But after a majority vote by the National Assembly on April 8, the Constitutional Council, seized by 61 deputies, partially rejected the bill and censored "immersive teaching", as well as the use of signs. diacritics. A decision that the representatives of regional languages do not understand.
In the Basque Country, for example, there are 37
ikastolas
, schools in the Basque language, including three colleges and a high school. They have more than 4,000 students: "
One in five students is educated in these conditions,
" said
Le Figaro
Peio Jorajuria, president of Seaska, the federation of
ikastolas
. The Basque Country is not the only one in this case. We also find the Bretons, the Occitans, the Corsicans, the Catalans, the Alsatians and the Flemings. All will meet on Saturday May 29 to defend their languages and their schools. Each of the regions has its history, but they all find themselves behind a common goal: to want to perpetuate their indigenous languages, some of which are on the verge of extinction.
A proven education system
The immersive school was, for a long time, categorized as “
militant
”, in particular because of “
its precariousness
”, explains Yann Uguen, president of Diwan, in Brittany.
First created against all odds in the 1970s, these schools were subsequently recognized with associative status from the State, in particular following the reform of the Constitution in 1992. Since then, they have followed the program of National Education.
On several occasions, schools have stood out and have been included in the ranking of the best high schools in France, as was the case for that of Diwan in 2013, in a ranking established by
Le
Figaro
.
Peio Jorajuria also evokes a comparative study which was carried out in 2019, where the Basque, French and bilingual sectors were studied.
The result shows that children from entirely Basque streams, CP and CE1, who have not yet studied the French language, nevertheless master it better than other students in 100% French streams.
Read also: In the Basque Country, Basque language progresses
For Professor Marie-Jeanne Verny, who is also a representative of the “
So that our languages live
” collective, bilingual students demonstrate real “
intellectual flexibility
” and have an advantage in learning other languages. She who has never learned Spanish was still able to choose this option during her aggregation, she testifies.
To verify the statements of these teachers,
Le
Figaro
notably interviewed two students from Diwan, the Breton school. Both confirm that learning Breton has helped them in learning other languages, in particular because they were used very young "
not to hear only French
", but also thanks to a "
acquired confidence
" in over the years.
These students who were able to study in Diwan until the third year, also explain that they became independent very quickly: “
Our parents, who are not Bretonners, could not help us with our homework.
The only way to evolve then was to go see the other students or the teachers
”.
Another student, who took Breton in LV2 in her public school, with hindsight, would have liked to find herself in this educational system: “
It's true that from outside we could see a very strong cohesion between all the students and the students. teachers
”.
Conservation of a "
family heritage
" and "
cultural wealth
"
In addition to the school system, which is appreciated in the immersive Basque and Breton schools, the discovery of ancestral culture is also popular with the two students. “
Having done Diwan allowed me to learn a lot of things about Breton culture, which is very rich. This richness is found a lot in the language itself, since there are many words that we use in Brittany without knowing their meaning
”. Indeed, for the representative of the collective "
So that our languages live
", these languages continue to exist: "
They live in the names of places, in the writers, in the music, in the songs, they live in these children who learn them
”.
“
Bilingualism brings two ways of seeing things,
” explains Peio Jorajuria.
In the Basque Country, education is a bit different from others, he explains.
For example, history courses are based on those of National Education but they are also supported by regional history.
For Marie-Jeanne Verny, with these teachings, we do not take anything away from children.
On the contrary, we add knowledge: "
Let us let them live and we will not be less French for all that!"
".
Read also: The law on regional languages sows discord among LREM deputies
At the Breton / Ti ar Vretoned mission in Paris, Gaël Billien believes that immersion makes the teaching of the Breton language effective, when the daily environment is essentially French-speaking. Unlike other regional languages, which are often culturally supported by their neighbor, such as the North Basque Country is by the South Basque Country, “
Breton is alone. Its sister language, Welsh, is spoken across the Channel
”. "
Breton is a family heritage and a cultural wealth: from the moment the language dies on the only territory where it is supposed to be spoken, the loss is final
", he continues. "
It is my language of heart, affection, cultural and musical expression, and artistic creation.
But I obviously use French, which I learned at school, out of pragmatism.
"
Immersive schools would also bring jobs.
According to Peio Jorajuria, in the Basque Country, strong demands are made on the side of commerce and service to people.
This is why these two courses are offered in the only immersive high school in the region.
“
But we also have a lot of farmers, engineers, journalists, translators, and a lot of teachers,
” he insists.
Misunderstanding of the decision of the Constitutional Council
All the defenders of regional languages judged the decision of the Constitutional Council "
brutal
". “
We felt hurt and humiliated
,” says Yann from the school in Brittany.
What do they blame us for? What do they want from us?
". For his part, Paul Molac, at the origin of the law, also wonders: “
What are they afraid of?
For Yann, this decision is a question of ideology and history. “
They cannot question the teaching method because we have results,
” he believes. Marie-Jeanne Verny considers that the problem is also budgetary, because “
you have to give money to train teachers.
According to her, the only way to extend immersion in public schools would be to "
modify article 2 of the Constitution
".
For Gaël Billien of the Breton mission, modifying the Constitution is “
crazy hope
”: “
It's a bit like David who confronts Goliath.
But this time, we suspect that Goliath will win in the end.
How to convince the national representation to destroy the article which defends the French language, which is in danger vis-a-vis English, for the benefit of the regional languages?
"If Emmanuel Macron reassured them by affirming that the languages of France,"
national treasure
", will continue to be taught, the representatives will each go to demonstrate in their region in order to bring their demands.
“
We are touched in the heart of our culture, and the history of France,”
says Yann Uguen
.
The crisis is strong, and it is cultural
".
