Speaking Like A State? Cultural Imperialism, Linguistic Particularism and Local Officials in the Napoleonic Enquiry into the Patois, 1806-1812)

Between 1806 and 1812, the French Bureau de la statistique, under the direction of Charles-Étienne Coquebert de Montbret, and with the aid of his son, Eugène, conducted a survey of the languages spoken throughout the French empire. In addition to a number of linguistic maps and samples of local dialects, the Coqueberts gathered an abundance of statements about language from local, bilingual elites. Working from this material, this article reveals the processes of linguistic accommodation that these local officials engaged in as they translated between the francophone state and local society. Despite their roles as French-speaking state actors, these officials made use of other languages in informal settings, and even elaborated arguments in favour of linguistic particularism, a finding with significance for scholarship on Napoleonic ‘cultural imperialism’ and state-driven nationbuilding projects more generally.