41 - GRÉGOIRE (Henri Jean Baptiste, Abbé). Report on the Necessity and Means of Eradicating Dialects and Universalizing the Use of the French Language. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, [1794]. In-8, 19 pp. in folio, without cover, uncut.

GRÉGOIRE (Henri Jean Baptiste, Abbé). Report on the Necessity and Means of Eradicating Dialects and Universalizing the Use of the French Language. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, [1794]. In-8, 19 pp. in folio, without cover, uncut. First edition of one of the founding texts of French language policy, presented by Abbé Grégoire to the National Convention on 16 Prairial, Year II (June 4, 1794). Drawing on an extensive survey undertaken as early as 1790 among correspondents spread throughout the country, Grégoire paints a picture of the linguistic diversity of revolutionary France and advocates for the widespread adoption of French as the common language of the Republic. He viewed linguistic unification as an essential tool for public education, the dissemination of laws, and the strengthening of national unity. This report, which has become a major reference in the history of French language policies, also reflects the revolutionary desire to eliminate regional particularities in favor of a unified national culture. (Tourneux, III, 17063; Martin & Walter, 15679.)