John Calvin’s mother tongue
It is not well known, but the mother tongue of John Calvin was not French—which he learned later in life—but Picard, a Romance language still spoken today that is close to but distinct from French, for he was born in Noyon, Picardy, in north-eastern France.[1]
[1] Bruce Gordon, Calvin (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 4. For an overview of Picard, see “Picard language” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picard_language; accessed July 4, 2009).
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 at 4:23 pm and is filed under Reformation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
July 4th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Does this explain why I have seen his birth name as Jehan Cauvin? Or is that just speculation?
July 4th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Ron:
This would not be partic. unique Picard name.
That is more to do with medieval French, the first name Jehan, that is.
Michael.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:11 am
What’s so big about this piece of trivia? Would Calvin even find it amusing?
July 6th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Sid:
Language shapes thought. I personally found this very intreresting. I never intended my remarks to be amusing.
Michael.
July 10th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Don’t forget that today July 10 is Calvin’s 500th birthday.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Hi Dr. Haykin,
I think someone was heckling you! Good grief!
Anyways just a quick question, how close is Picard to the French of the day or modern french as opposed to say German, Latin or English etc.?
July 10th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Kim:
Thanks. I did not forget. I tweeted on it on Twitter! What weird words we must use for vehicles of communication!
Michael
July 10th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Ben:
Yes, can you believe it?
On Picard: very close to French of the day and even today. But there are significiant word differences and syntax. It is clearly in the Gallo-Romance group of languages, But it is also clearly not French. Now spoken mostly by over-50s.
Michael.