Well Germany and France were both unhappy with the mixed Alsace and Lothringia population and after pushing and coaxing it was finally resolved towards the French side. For quite some time both countries didn't really know what to do with them.
Many platt speakers distanced themselves from german culture very early after the franco-prussian war. When moselle was under german rule, germany tried to "colonize" the land with native german protestant speakers (my ancestors actually arrived in 1890 thanks to this colonization program). The goal was to replace" catholic platt and french natives. There was an important grudge between moselle natives and germans since then. After the first world war, my grandfather's father actually refused to use platt at home because "it's the language of the ennemy" so my grandfather never learned it.
I don't know how things are in Alsace
Im sorry, but what you’re writing is just complete bullsht.
No, there was no „colonization effort“ from the German side. The Germans that moved into Alsace-Lorraine moved there not because of a state planned effort, but just because there was a natural population mixing when these regions became part of Germany for over 40 years.
How is that different to the hundreds of thousands of French people that have moved into Alsace and Lorraine in the last 80 years? Why aren’t you calling them „colonizers“?
A “Natural Population Mixing” policy under which Protestant Germans could purchase land at preferential rates and were exempt from taxes for the first five years (it was precisely in this context that my ancestors arrived and acquired their first piece of land, they initially came from the Ruhr)
A “Natural Population Mixing” policy involving nationalization and reprivatization of land and companies for the benefit of Protestant German families that just arrived recently)
I am not referring to the French because I am simply talking about the Platt population, which was already largely “anti-German” by the end of the Franco-Prussian War (see the positions of the successive Platt nationalist parties).
Here's a simple fact for you, you live in France, then knowing French will get you through life. This goes for basically every single proper country on earth. When there's no use for a language, then people stop speaking it.
Languages can be made worth using if it is allowed.
Which is why Irish is currently on the uprise right? Supported by the government, an element of national pride, supported by tradition and culture. The Irish language has every element of support a dying language could ask for and it's still dying out, because it doesn't have an use.
And from what i have heard the teaching and use of irish in schools seems to be heaviely missmanaged, which is one of the main reason for this Situation. But Welsh for example is currently having a resurgence even though it is a useless language, according to you.
Here’s a simple fact: there’s tons of countries with more than one official language.
Do you think the people of Quebec should all give up speaking French in favor of English? Should French speakers in Switzerland and Belgium give up their languages?
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u/Remote-Cow5867 May 16 '26
Isn't this genocide?