Reporting
Madagascar: in a college in Antananarivo, literature brings the French language to life
Direction Madagascar for Francophonie Week. On the island, French is the country's second official language but its use has tended to decline for several years. However, this is not the case everywhere, particularly in libraries and classrooms, where it is used as the language of instruction. Report from Saint Michel College, a private establishment in Antananarivo, where students bring French to life through their passion for literature.
Listen - 01:28
View of the city of Antananarivo from the upper town (2016). Getty Images - Yann Guichaoua-Photos
By: RFI Follow
Advertisement
Read more
With our correspondent in Antananarivo,
Pauline Le Troquier
“
French literature is not at all out of date, on the contrary it has become a fashion here
.” In the reserve of this library, a dark room without windows, hundreds of books are revealed on shelves barely lit by a few white neon lights.
“
This is French literature: Voltaire, Diderot, Balzac…
” What is special about this library? A wide range of
French
works . Here, they enter the school program very early, from the sixth grade. Enough to give rise to passions in some, like Aurélie, a final year student.
“
It takes me to another world, but not necessarily the France we know today
,” she explains.
You can feel the love. At the time when French literature was written, we talked about things like forbidden marriages and profane love. This is what interests me most in literature, this other world. Truly, it’s incredible
.”
“
French literature allows you to travel in time, and especially elsewhere
”
This enthusiasm, shared by many other students, is born in the classrooms, where this type of literature is first imposed before finally being chosen by the students themselves. An approach that Mbolatiana Radavidson, a French teacher at the establishment, is increasingly seeing.
“
We keep telling them that it allows them to take a trip
,” she believes.
Madagascar
is an island: so we have no neighbors, and very little contact with the outside world. Most Malagasy people cannot afford to travel. So, French literature allows us to travel in time, and especially elsewhere
.”
Beyond offering a journey, reading consolidates the use of French among students. This is valuable data in the country, where language proficiency is particularly prized on the job market.
Orally
World Francophonie Day: what does the English language owe to French?
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your inbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Share :
Continue reading on the same themes:
Madagascar
Literature
Francophonie
French language