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La Foire Aux Immortels

La Foire aux immortels

The Carnival of Immortals (or La Foire aux Immortels in French) is a science-fiction comic book from 1980 written and illustrated by the Yugoslavian born cartoonist and storyteller Enki Bilal. It is the first part of the Nikopol Trilogy, followed up by La Femme piège (The Woman Trap) in 1986 and ending with Froid-Équateur (Equator Cold) in 1992. In 2004, Bilal directed the film adaptation Immortel (Ad Vitam), although many plot elements were changed from the comic book.

Plot

Set in the year 2023, the book follows Alcide Nikopol who returns to Paris after being frozen in space for 30 years as a punishment after refusing to fight in a war. The Paris he once knew is now ruled by fascist dictator J. F. Choublanc, the city is swarmed with aliens and is decaying and succumbing to chaos. At the same time, a flying pyramid-shaped space craft, is hovering over Paris. It is inhabited by Egyptian gods who are demanding fuel from the local authorities, as their pyramid vessel is dry. The local authorities, i.e. Choublanc, are demanding something special in return for such a service; Choublanc wants immortality from the gods. One renegade god, Horus, meets up with the disillusioned Nikopol in the Metro and they agree on a certain deal for Horus to control Nikopol's body. Together they go on a journey to oppose the corrupt and megalomaniacal powers of the 21st century.

External links


- [http://www.humanoids-publishing.com/products/prod.php?id=150 The Nikopol Trilogy at Humanoids Publishing]
- [http://www.humano.com/bilal/dyn/biblio_dyn.php?id=70 La Foire aux Immortels at Les Humanoïdes Associés] Category:Graphic novels Category:Comic book titles Category:Science fiction comics

French language

French (French: français) is the third of the Romance languages in terms of number of speakers, after Spanish and Portuguese, being spoken by about 67 million people as a mother tongue, and altogether by some 128 million people, which includes second-language speakers who use French for daily communication. French is thus the 18th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, and 9th in terms of daily speakers. It is an official language in 29 countries. It is also an official or administrative language in various communities and organisations (such as the European Union, IOC, United Nations and Universal Postal Union). Before World War II, French was considered the international language, particularly in such fields as diplomacy, trade, shipping, and transportation.

History

The Roman invasion of Gaul

The French language is a Romance language, meaning that it is descended from Latin. Before the Roman invasion of what is modern-day France by Julius Cæsar (58–52 BC), France was inhabited largely by a Celtic people that the Romans referred to as Gauls, although there were also other linguistic/ethnic groups in France at this time, such as the Iberians in southern France and Spain, the Ligurians on the Mediterranean coast, Greek colonies such as Massalia (i.e. present-day Marseille), Phoenician outposts, and the Vascons on the Spanish/French border. Although in the past many Frenchmen liked to refer to their descent from Gallic ancestors (nos ancêtres les Gaulois), perhaps fewer than 200 words with a Celtic etymological origin remain in French today (largely place and plant names and words dealing with rural life and the earth). In the reverse direction, some words for Gallic objects which were new to the Romans and for which there were no words in Latin were imported into Latin – for example, clothing items such as les braies. Latin quickly became the lingua franca of the entire Gallic region for mercantile, official and educational purposes, yet it should be remembered that this was Vulgar Latin, the colloquial dialect spoken by the Roman army and its agents and not the literary dialect of Cicero.

The Franks

From the third century on, Western Europe was invaded by Germanic tribes from the east, and some of these groups settled in Gaul. For the history of the French language, the most important of these groups are the Franks in northern France, the Alemanni in the German/French border, the Burgundians in the Rhone valley and the Visigoths in the Aquitaine region and Spain. These Germanic-speaking groups had a profound effect on the Latin spoken in their respective regions, altering both the pronunciation and the syntax. They also introduced a number of new words: perhaps as much as 15% of modern French comes from Germanic words, including many terms and expressions associated with their social structure and military tactics.

Langue d'Oïl

Linguists typically divide the languages spoken in medieval France into three geographical subgroups: Langue d'oïl and Langue d'oc are the two major groups; the third group, Franco-Provençal, is considered a transitional language between the two other groups. The Oïl–Oc divide is broadly comparable to the divide illustrated by the use of "yes" in English and "aye" in Scots. Langue d'oïl, the languages which use oïl (in modern usage, oui) for "yes", is the language group in the north of France. These languages, like Picard, Walloon, Francien and Norman, were influenced by the Germanic languages spoken by the Frankish invaders. From the time period Clovis I on, the Franks extended their rule over northern Gaul. Over time, the French language developed from either the Oïl language found around Paris (the Francien theory) or from a standard administrative language based on common characteristics found in all Oïl languages (the lingua franca theory). Langue d'oc, the languages which use oc for "yes", is the language group in the south of France and northern Spain. These languages, such as Gascon and Provençal, have relatively little Frankish influence. (Modern French has two words for "yes", oui and si; the latter is used to contradict negative statements. Si derives from Latin sic "thus", and is cognate to the word for "yes" in Spanish, Italian, and Catalan. Oïl/oui derive, according to Larousse, from Latin hoc ille "thus he (did)".)

Other linguistic groups

The early middle ages also saw the influence of other linguistic groups on the dialects of France: From the 5th to the 8th centuries, Celtic-speaking peoples from southwestern Britain (Wales, Cornwall, Devon) travelled across the English Channel, both for reasons of trade and as a result of the Anglo-Saxon invasions of England. They established themselves in Bretagne (Brittany). Their language was a dialect of the Brythonic languages, which has been named Breton in more recent centuries. It is part of the larger Celtic language family, though the modern dialects reflect a noticeable influence from French in their vocabulary. From the 6th to the 7th centuries, the Vascons crossed over the Pyrénées, a mountain range in the south of France. Their presence influenced the Occitan language spoken in southwestern France, resulting in the dialect called Gascon. Scandinavian vikings invaded France from the 9th century onwards and established themselves in what would come to be called Normandie (Normandy). They took up the langue d'oïl spoken there and contributed many words to French related to maritime activities, amongst other things. With their conquest of England in 1066, the Normans brought their language. The dialect that developed there as a language of administration and literature is referred to as Anglo-Norman. Anglo-Norman served as the language of the ruling classes and commerce in England from the time of the conquest until 1362, when the use of English became dominant again. Because of the Norman Conquest, the English language has borrowed a considerable amount of its vocabulary from French. The Arab peoples also supplied many words to French around this time period, including words for luxury goods, spices, trade stuffs, sciences and mathematics.

History of French

For the period up to around 1300, some linguists refer to the oïl languages collectively as Old French (ancien français). The earliest extant text in French is the Oaths of Strasbourg from 842; Old French became a literary language with the chansons de geste that told tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and the heroes of the Crusades. By the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts in 1539 King Francis I made French the official language of administration and court proceedings in France, ousting the Latin that had been used before then. With the imposition of a standardised chancery dialect and the loss of the declension system, the dialect is referred to as Middle French (moyen français). Following a period of unification, regulation and purification, the French of the 17th to the 18th centuries is sometimes referred to as Classical French (français classique), although many linguists simply refer to French language from the 17th century to today as Modern French (français moderne). The foundation of the Académie française (French Academy) in 1634 by Cardinal Richelieu created an official body whose goal has been the purification and preservation of the French language. This group of 40 members is known as the Immortals, not, as some erroneously believe, because they are chosen to serve for the extent of their lives (which they are), but because of the inscription engraved on the official seal given to them by their founder Richelieu—"À l'immortalité" ("to the Immortality (of the French language)"). The foundation still exists and contributes to the policing of the language and the adaptation of foreign words and expressions. Some recent modifications include the change from software to logiciel, packet-boat to paquebot, and riding-coat to redingote. The word ordinateur for computer was however not created by the Académie, but by a linguist appointed by IBM (see :fr:ordinateur). From the 17th to the 19th centuries, France was the leading power of continental Europe; thanks to this, together with the influence of the Enlightenment, French was the lingua franca of educated Europe, especially with regards to the arts, literature, and diplomacy; monarchs like Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine the Great of Russia could both speak and write in French. Through the Académie, public education, centuries of official control and the role of media, a unified official French language has been forged, but there remains a great deal of diversity today in terms of regional accents and words. For some critics, the "best" pronunciation of the French language is considered to be the one used in Touraine (around Tours and the Loire River valley), but such value judgments are fraught with problems, and with the ever increasing loss of lifelong attachments to a specific region and the growing importance of the national media, the future of specific "regional" accents is difficult to predict.

Modern issues

There is some debate in today's France about the preservation of the French language and the influence of English (see franglais), especially with regard to international business, the sciences and popular culture. There have been laws (see Toubon law) enacted which require that all print ads and billboards with foreign expressions include a French translation and which require quotas of French-language songs (at least 40%) on the radio. There is also pressure, in differing degrees, from some regions as well as minority political or cultural groups for a measure of recognition and support for their regional languages.

Geographic distribution

regional language
French is an official language in the following countries or parts thereof: La Francophonie is an international organization of French-speaking countries and governments.

Legal status in France

Per the Constitution of France, French is the official language of the Republic since 1792 [http://www.languefrancaise.net/dossiers/dossiers.php?id_dossier=50]. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education outside of specific cases (though these dispositions are often ignored) and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. See Toubon Law. Contrary to a misunderstanding common in the American and British media, France does not prohibit the use of foreign words in websites or any other private publication, which would anyway contradict constitutional guarantees on freedom of speech. The misunderstanding may have arisen from a similar prohibition in the Canadian province of Quebec which made strict application of the Charter of the French Language between 1977 and 1993, although these regulations addressed language used in advertising and the provision of commercial services offered within the province, not the language of private communication. There exist in addition to French a variety of languages spoken in France by minorities; see Languages of France.

Legal status in Canada

About 12% of the world's francophones are Canadian, and French is one of Canada's two official languages, with English; various provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms deal with the right of Canadians to access services in English and French all across Canada. By law, the federal government must operate and provide services in both English and French; proceedings of the Parliament of Canada must be translated into both English and French; and all Canadian products must be labelled in both English and French. Overall about 22% of Canadians speak French as a first language and 18% are bilingual. French has been the only official language of Quebec since 1974, although it is commonly (and incorrectly) believed that the designation of French as the sole official language occurred in 1977 with the adoption of the Charter of the French Language (which is popularly referred to as Bill 101). By far the provision of Bill 101 with the most significant impact has been that which mandates French-language education, unless a child's parents or siblings have received the major part of their own education in English within Canada. That provision has reversed a historical trend whereby a large number of immigrant children were being sent to English schools by their parents. In so doing, Bill 101 has greatly contributed to the "visage français" (French face) of Quebec. Other provisions of Bill 101, on the other hand, have been ruled unconstitutional over the years, including those mandating French-only commercial signs, court proceedings, and debates in the legislature. Some of those provisions have remained in effect, for a while, using the constitutional "notwithstanding" clause that permits a non-compliant law to temporarily remain. No "notwithstanding provision" is currently in effect. In 1993 the Charter was changed to allow signage in other languages so long as French is markedly "predominant". The Charter also provides for a measure of access by Anglophones to health and social services in their own language. The only province which has French as an official language is New Brunswick. In Ontario and Manitoba, French does not have full official status, although the provincial governments do provide full French-language services in all communities where significant numbers of francophones live. All of the other provinces do make some effort to accommodate the needs of their francophone citizens, although the level and quality of French-language service varies significantly from province to province.

Legal status in Switzerland

French is an official language in Switzerland. It is spoken in the part of Switzerland called Romandy.

Dialects of French


- Acadian French
- African French
- Belgian French
- Cajun French
- Canadian French
- Cambodian French
- Louisiana Creole French
- français d'Aoste
- français-germanique
- Indian French
- Levantine French
- Maghreb French
- Newfoundland French
- North American French
- Oceanic French
- Quebec French
- South East Asian French
- Swiss French
- West Indian French
- [http://www.linguasphere.org/langues_romanes.pdf linguasphere on Romance languages]

Languages derived from French


- Antillean Creole
- Haitian Creole
- Lanc-Patuá
- Mauritian Creole
- Michif
- Louisiana Creole French
- Réunionese Creole
- Seychellois Creole
- Tay Boi

Sounds

:Main article: French phonology and orthography French pronunciation follows strict rules based on spelling, but French spelling is often based more on history than phonology. The rules for pronunciation vary between dialects, but the standard rules are:
- liaison or linking: Final single consonants, in particular s, x, z, t, d, n and m, are normally silent. (The final letters 'c', 'r', 'f', and 'l' however are normally pronounced.) When the following word begins with a vowel, though, a silent consonant may once again be pronounced, to provide a "link" between the two words and avoid a glottal stop between them. Some liaisons are mandatory, for example the s in les amants or vous avez; some are optional, depending on dialect and register, for example the first s in deux cents euros or euros irlandais; and some are forbidden, for example the s in beaucoup d'hommes aiment. The t of et is never pronounced and the silent final consonant of a noun is only pronounced in the plural and in set phrases like pied-à-terre. Doubling a final consonant and adding a silent e at the end of a word (e.g. Parisien → Parisienne) makes it clearly pronounced, always.
- elision or vowel dropping: Monosyllabic words such as je or que drop their final vowel before another word beginning with a vowel. The missing vowel is replaced by an apostrophe. (e.g. je ai is instead pronounced and spelt → j'ai)
- nasal "n" and "m". When "n" or "m" follows a vowel combination, the "n" and "m" become silent and cause the preceding vowel to become nasalized (i.e. pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to allow part of the air to leave through the nostrils). Exceptions are when the "n" or "m" is doubled, or immediately followed by a vowel. The prefixes en- and em- are always nasalized. The rules get more complex than this but may vary between dialects.
- digraphs French does not introduce extra letters or diacritics to specify its large range of vowel sounds and diphthongs, rather it uses specific combinations of vowels, sometimes with following consonants, to show which sound is intended. (See French phonology and orthography or [http://www.languageguide.org/francais/grammar/pronunciation/ French Pronunciation Guide] for more details.)
- accents are used sometimes for pronunciation, sometimes to distinguish similar words, and sometimes for etymology alone.
  - Accents that affect pronunciation:
    - "é", is pronounced instead of the defaults or,
    - "è" (e.g., secrète) means that the vowel is pronounced (as usual),
    - dieresis (e.g. naïve, Noël) as in English, specifies that this vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding one (or following one in some cases), not combined,
    - the "ç" means that the letter c is pronounced in front of A, O, or U. ("c" is otherwise hard before a hard vowel.)
    - The circumflex (e.g. pâté, forêt) shows that an e is pronounced and that an o is pronounced . In some dialects it also signifies a pronunciation of for the letter a, but this differentiation is disappearing. It usually indicates a former long vowel created by the dropping of an "s" from the Latin root (as in English "paste", "forest"),
  - Accents with no pronunciation effect:
    - The circumflex does not affect the pronunciation of the letters i or u, and in most dialects, a as well.
    - All other accents are used only to distinguish similar words or for etymological reasons, as in the case of distinguishing the adverbs là and où ("there", "where") from the article la and the conjunction ou ("the fem. sing.", "or") respectively.

Grammar

:Main article: French grammar French grammar shares several notable features with most other Romance languages, including:
- the loss of Latin's declensions
- only two grammatical genders
- the development of grammatical articles from Latin demonstratives
- new tenses formed from auxiliaries French word order is Subject Verb Object, except when the object is a pronoun, in which case the word order is Subject Object Verb.

Vocabulary

Word origins

The majority of French words derive from vernacular or "vulgar" Latin or were constructed from Latin or Greek roots. There are often pairs of words, one form being popular (noun) and the other one savant (adjective), both originating from Latin. Example:
- brother: frère (brother) / fraternel
- finger: doigt / digital
- faith: foi (faith) / fidèle
- cold: froid / frigide
- eye: œil / oculaire The French words which have developed from Latin are usually less recognisable than Italian words of Latin origin because as French developed into a separate language from Vulgar Latin, the unstressed final syllable of many words was dropped or elided into the following word. It is estimated that 12 percent (4,200) of common French words found in a typical dictionary such as the Petit Larousse or Micro-Robert Plus (35,000 words) are of foreign origin. About 25 percent (1,054) of these foreign words come from English and are fairly recent borrowings. The others are some 707 words from Italian, 550 from ancient Germanic languages, 481 from ancient Gallo-Romance languages, 215 from Arabic, 164 from German, 160 from Celtic languages, 159 from Spanish, 153 from Dutch, 112 from Persian and Sanskrit, 101 from Native American languages, 89 from other Asian languages, 56 from Afro-Asiatic languages, 55 from Slavic languages and Baltic languages, and 144 from other languages (3 percent of the total). Source: Henriette Walter, Gérard Walter, Dictionnaire des mots d'origine étrangère, 1998.

Levels of register

French, like many other languages, possesses a continuum of several levels of register. The colloquial register is used in almost any circumstance of life, and should not be confused with slang or rude talk. Formal French is used in writing or in formal occasions (when people make official speeches or when they are interviewed on television, for instance). Some level of formality is also normally used in classrooms in France, although colloquial French is now spoken by more and more professors with their students. Colloquial French differs from formal French in terms of grammar. For instance, the negation in formal French is "ne... pas", whereas in colloquial French it is simply "... pas", such as "I don't think so", which is "Je ne crois pas" in formal French, and "Je crois pas" in colloquial French. Another example of change in grammar is the way to ask a question: by inverting verb and subject in formal French, or also by using "est-ce que", whereas in colloquial French a question is phrased exactly as an affirmation, with the voice rising in the end. E.g.: "Is he sick?" would be "Est-il malade?" or "Est-ce qu'il est malade?" in formal French, and "Il est malade?" in colloquial French. On the other hand, questions with "est-ce que" are more colloquial than using inversion. Secondly, colloquial French differs from formal French in terms of pronunciation. Some words undergo shortening, or sound change, whereas some syllables are dropped altogether. For instance, "yes" is "oui" in formal French, and becomes "ouais" in colloquial French; "I" is "je" in formal French, but becomes "j' " in colloquial French; so a sentence like "I think he'll come" is "Je pense qu'il viendra" in formal French, and "J'pense qu'i'viendra" in colloquial French. There are many instances of shortening of words, such as "teacher", which is "professeur" in formal French, but becomes "prof'" in colloquial French.

Counting system

The French counting system is partially vigesimal: twenty () is used as a base number in the names of numbers from 70-99. So for example, means 4 times 20, i.e. is the French word for 80, and (literally "sixty-fifteen") means 75. This is comparable to archaic English use of "score", as in "fourscore and seven" (87), or "threescore and ten" (70). Belgian French and Swiss French are different in this respect.

Writing system

French is written using the Latin alphabet, plus five diacritics (the circumflex accent, acute accent, grave accent, diaeresis, and cedilla) and two ligatures (æ, œ). French spelling, like English spelling, tends to preserve obsolete pronunciation rules. This is mainly due to extreme phonetic changes since the Old French period, without a corresponding change in spelling. However, some conscious changes were also made to restore Latin orthography:
- Old French doit > French doigt "finger" (Latin digitum)
- Old French pie > French pied "foot" (Latin pedem) As a result, it is nearly impossible to predict the spelling on the basis of the sound alone. Final consonants are generally silent, except when the following word begins with a vowel. For example, all of these words end in a vowel sound: nez, pied, aller, les, finit, beaux. The same words followed by a vowel, however, may sound the consonants, as they do in these examples: beaux-arts, les amis, pied-à-terre. On the other hand, a given spelling will almost always lead to a predictable sound, and the Académie française works hard to enforce and update this correspondence. In particular, a given vowel combination or diacritic predictably leads to one phoneme. The diacritics have phonetic, semantic, and etymological significance.
- grave accent (à, è, ù): Over a or u, used only to distinguish homophones: à ("to") vs. a ("has"), ou ("or") vs. où ("where"). Over an e, indicates the sound .
- acute accent (é): Over an e, indicates the sound , the ai sound in such words as English hay or neigh. It often indicates the historical deletion of a following consonant (usually an s): écouter < escouter.
- circumflex (â, ê, î, ô û): Over an e or o, indicates the sound or , respectively. Most often indicates the historical deletion of an adjacent letter (usually an s or a vowel): château < castel, fête < feste, sûr < seur, dîner < disner. By extension, it has also come to be used to distinguish homophones: du ("of the") vs. dû (past participle of devoir "to owe"; note that dû is in fact written thus because of a dropped e: deu).
- diaeresis or tréma (ë, ï, ü): Indicates that a vowel is to be pronounced separately from the preceding one: naïve, Noël. Diaeresis on ÿ only occurs in some proper names (such as l'Haÿ-les-Roses) and in modern editions of old French texts. Since the 1990 orthographic rectifications, the diaeresis in words containing guë (such as aiguë or ciguë) was moved onto the u: aigüe, cigüe. Words coming from German retain the old Umlaut if applicable but uses French pronounciation, such as capharnaüm(mess).
- cedilla (ç): Indicates that an etymological c is pronounced when it would otherwise be pronounced /k/. Thus je lance "I throw" (with c = before e), je lançai "I threw" (c would be pronounced before a without the cedilla). The ligature œ is a mandatory contraction of oe in certain words (sœur "sister" , œuvre "work [of art]" , cœur "heart" , cœlacanthe "Coelacanth" ), sometimes in words of Greek origin, spelled with an οι diphthong which became oe in Latin, pronounced in French (and other Romance languages): œsophage , œnologie . It may also appear in œu digraph (or œ alone in œil "eye"), in words that were once written with eu digraph (which could be read or , depending on the word): bœuf "ox" (Old French buef or beuf), mœurs "custom", œil "eye" , etc. In these cases, the Latin etymon must be spelled with an o where the French word has œu: bovem > bœuf, mores > mœurs, oculum > œil. Some attempts have been made to reform French spelling, but few major changes have been made over the last two centuries.

Some common phrases


- French: français ("fran-seh")
- hello: bonjour ("bon-zhoor")
- I love you.: Je t'aime. ("jhe tem")
- My name is _____: Je m'appelle _____ ("jhe-ma-pelle")
- good-bye: au revoir ("o-ruh-vwar")
- please: s'il vous plaît (Literally: if it please you) ("sill voo pleh")
- thank you: merci ("mairr-see")
- you are welcome: de rien (Literally: Of nothing) ("duh ryeh"), je vous en prie, il n'y a pas de quoi (France); bienvenue ("byeh-venuh") (Quebec)
- that one: celui-là ("su-lwee la"), colloq. ("swee la"), or celle-là (feminine) ("cell-la")
- how much?: combien? ("kom-byen")
- English: anglais ("ahng-gleh")
- yes: oui ("wee"), colloq. ouais (seldom written) ("way")
- no: non ("non")
- I am sorry: Je suis désolé(e). (add the "e" if the speaker is feminine); ("zhahn swee deh-zo-leh"), colloq. ("shswee deh-zo-leh"). Pardon ("par-dohn")
- I do not understand: Je ne comprends pas. ("zhuh nuh comprahn pa"), colloq. Je comprends pas (with dropping of "ne") ("shcomprahn pa")
- Where are the toilets?: Où sont les toilettes ? ("oo son leh twa-let")
- Cheers (toast to someone's health): Tchin ("chin"), Santé ("san-teh") or À la vôtre ("a la votr")
- Do you speak English?: Parlez-vous anglais ? ("par-leh voo ang-gleh") OR "Est-ce que vous parlez anglais?" ("voo par-leh ang-leh")
- Excuse me: Excusez-moi. ("eh-skyu-zay mwa")
- Good night: Bonne nuit ("bun nwee")
- Hi!: Salut ! ("sal-oo")
- I am tired: Je suis fatigué(e). (add the "e" if the speaker is feminine) ("jhe swee fah-tee-gay")
- Are you coming?: Venez vous ?, Est-ce que vous venez ? (or with close friends and relatives: tu viens?)
- I am thinking about it: J'y pense. ("jhee pahnss")
- I am going to the grocery store: Je vais à l'épicerie. ("jhe vay a lay-pee-ser-ee")
- We are going to school: On va à l'école. (colloquial) ("ohn va a lay-cohl")
- She is so pretty.: Elle est si jolie. ("el ay see jho-lee")
- our neighbors to the South: Nos voisins du sud ("noh vwah-zen due sued")
- Could you help me?: Pourriez-vous m'aider ? ("poo-ree-ay voo may-day")
- May I help you?: Puis-je vous aider? ("pwee-jha voo zay-day")
- It is the best of worlds: C'est le meilleur des mondes. ("say le may-yuhr day mohnd")
- Go to bed!: Va te coucher ! ("vah te coo-shay")
- I'm watching TV.: Je regarde la télé. ("jhe re-gard lah tay-lay")
- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre. ("wee-kee-pay-dee-ah, lahns-ee-kloh-pay-dee lee-bruh")
- I am the state.: L'État, c'est moi. ("leh-tah seh-mwa")

See also


- Académie française
- common phrases in different languages
- List of English words of French origin
- List of French phrases
- French in the United States
- French Language Wikipedia
- French phrases used by English speakers
- French proverbs
- Reforms of French orthography
- Morphology of the French verb
- Louchebem
- Verlan
- French Creole languages

External links


-
- [http://www.dicts.info/dictlist1.php?k1=33 All free French dictionaries] Collection of free French dictionaries.
- [http://www.declan-software.com/french French language learning audio software]
- [http://www.window.to/french/ Learn French online]
- [http://www.academie-francaise.fr/ Académie Française]
- [http://french.about.com/library/begin/bl_begin_vocab.htm Beginning French Vocabulary]
- [http://radio-canada.ca/education/francaismicro/ Capsules linguistiques - Radio-Canada.ca]
- [http://www.moelc.moe.edu.sg/french/ Département de Français, Ministry of Education Language Centre, Singapore]
- [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=fra Ethnologue report for French]
- [http://www.sprachprofi.de.vu/english/f.htm Free online resources for learners]
- [http://www.lexilogos.com/french_language_dictionary.htm French-English : all online dictionaries]
- [http://www.jump-gate.com/languages/french/ French Language Course]
- [http://www.ielanguages.com/french.html French Language Tutorial at ielanguages.com]
- [http://www.intuxication.org/~webtypo/le_francais_facile.htm Le français facile]
- [http://portal.wikinerds.org/rapidfrench How to learn French in 10 months]
- [http://dhost.info/defu/wiki/index.php?id=French_accentuation_rules Basic tips of French accentuation]
- [http://www.languagehelpers.com/words/french/basics.html LanguageHelpers]
- [http://www.lightandmatter.com/french/ Liberté, an online first-year French textbook]
- [http://www.listenandlearn.org/learn/french/index.php Learn French by reading and listening]
- [http://www.how-to-learn-any-language.com/e/languages/french/index.html A profile of the French language]
- [http://dhost.info/defu/wiki/index.php?id=Virtual_French_Keyboard A virtual French keyboard]
- [http://linearb.co.uk:8080/memory/ Searchable French-English dictionary, with example sentences]
- [http://atilf.atilf.fr/ Le Trésor de la Langue Française informatisé] (very comprehensive)
- [http://truckspeak.monsite.wanadoo.fr Truck Drivers' French - English, English - French Dictionary]
- [http://www.loecsen.com/travel/discover_pop.php?lang=en&to_lang=3&learn-French/ Listen to useful French expressions]
- [http://www.FrenchLanguageTips.com/ Learn French Fast & Easy]
- [http://www.wordreference.com/ Wordreference.com dictionary]
- [http://www.my-french-dictionary.com/ My French Picture Dictionary] Category:French language Category:Oïl languages Category:Languages of Belgium Category:Languages of Canada Category:Languages of France Category:Languages of Luxembourg Category:Languages of Switzerland Category:Languages of French Guiana Category:Languages of Morocco Category:Languages of French Polynesia Category:Languages of Wallis and Futuna Category:Languages of New Caledonia Category:Synthetic languages Category:Guttural R als:Französische Sprache zh-min-nan:Hoat-gí ko:프랑스어 ja:フランス語 simple:French language th:ภาษาฝรั่งเศส

Science Fiction

Science fiction

1980

1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. It is equivalent to 2733 a.U.c., and to 1359 AH.

Events

January-February


- January 1–April 1 - National steel strike in the United Kingdom.
- January 1 - Changes to the Swedish Act of Succession creates Victoria of Sweden, Crown Princess over her younger brother.
- January 4 - American president Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
- January 5 - Hewlett-Packard announces release of its first personal computer.
- January 7 - President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out Chrysler Corporation.
- January 9 - In Saudi Arabia, sixty three Muslim fanatics are beheaded for their part in the siege of the Great Mosque in Mecca in November, 1979.
- January 11 - Nigel Short, fourteen years old, is the youngest chess player to be awarded the degree of International Master.
- January 22 - Andrei Sakharov, a Russian scientist and human right activist, is arrested in Moscow.
- January 26 - Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
- February 2 - Abscam: Reports surface that FBI personnel were targeting members of the U.S. Congress in a sting operation.
- February 4 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
- February 15 - In Vanuatu, followers of John Frum's cargo cult on the island of Tanna declare secession as the nation of Tafea.
- February 23 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament would decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
- February 25 - Coup in Surinam ousts government of Henck Arron. Leaders Desi Bouterse and Rou Horb replace it with National Military Council.
- February 27 - M-19 guerrillas begin the Dominican embassy siege in Colombia, holding sixty people hostage, including fourteen ambassadors.

March


- March 1 - Voyager 1 probe confirms the existence of Janus, a moon of Saturn.
- March 3 - Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.
- March 4 - Robert Mugabe is elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.
- March 10 - Jean Harris shoots doctor Herman Tarnower, the inventor of the Scarsdale diet.
- March 14 - In Poland, a plane crashes during an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing a 14-man American boxing team and 73 others.
- March 18 - Fifty people are killed at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia when a Vostok-2M rocket explodes on its launch pad during a fueling operation.
- March 20 - The pirate radio station Radio Caroline sinks.
- March 21 - President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
- March 21 - Mafioso Angelo Bruno assassinated in Atlantic City.
- March 24 - Australia Olympic Committee announces it will send an Olympic delegation to Moscow, despite objections by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.
- March 24 - Archbishop Óscar Romero is killed by gunmen while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
- March 26 - A mine lift cage at the Vaal Reef gold mine in South Africa falls 1.2 miles, killing twenty-three.
- March 27 - The Norwegian oil platform Alexander Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.

April


- April 1 - The Mariel boatlift begins.
- April 7 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Iran and imposes economic sanctions following the taking of American hostages on Sunday, November 4, 1979.
- April 10 - Spain and United Kingdom agree to reopen the border between Gibraltar and Spain, closed since 1969.
- April 18 - Zimbabwe's formal independence from the United Kingdom. Robert Mugabe takes his post as a Prime Minister.
- April 21 - Rosie Ruiz wins the Boston Marathon, but is later exposed as a fraud and stripped of her award.
- April 24–April 25 - Operation Eagle Claw, a commando mission in Iran to rescue American embassy hostages, is aborted after mechanical problems ground the rescue helicopters. Eight United States troops are killed in a mid-air collision during the failed operation.
- April 27 - The Dominican embassy siege ends with all hostages released and the guerrillas flying to Cuba.
- April 30
  - Iranian Embassy Siege - Six Iranian-born terrorists take over Iranian embassy in London, UK. SAS retakes the Embassy on May 5 — one terrorist survives.
  - Luis Muñoz Marín, first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico, dies at the age of 82.
  - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands abdicates, and her daughter Beatrix ascends to the throne.

May


- May 7 - Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, is released from prison in Beacon, New York, after 68 years and 245 days - the longest-ever time served by an inmate
- May 9 - In Florida, a Liberian freighter named the Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay sending 35 people (most of whom were in a bus) to a watery death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapsed
- May 17 - Florida court acquits 4 police officers of killing Arthur McDuffie. Three days of race riots follow
- May 18 - Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington killing 57 and causing US$3 billion in damage
- May 18 - Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.
- May 20 - Referendum in Quebec where the population rejects by a vote of 60% the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
- May 24 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of U.S. embassy hostages in Tehran.
- May 26 - John Frum supporters in Vanuatu storm government offices in the island of Tanna. Vanuatu government troops land the next day and drive them away
- May 26 - In South Korea, military government forces and pro-democracy protesters clash - 2000 protesters die

June


- June 1 - Comedian Richard Pryor is badly burned trying to freebase cocaine.
- June 3 - A series of deadly tornadoes strikes Grand Island, Nebraska, causing over $300m in damage, killing five people and injuring over 250.
- June 10 - Apartheid: The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a statement by their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela which says in part 'UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!'[http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/mandela/64-90/anvil.html]
- June 10 - Unabomber bomb injures Percy Wood, president of the United Airlines in Lake Forest, Illinois
- June 19 - Iraqi security forces shoot dead three gunmen who attacked the British embassy in Baghdad. The unknown attackers were killed in the embassy gardens by Iraqi security men, sent at the urgent request of the British ambassador, Alex Stirling.
- June 22 - West Germany beat Belgium 2-1 to win Euro 80
- June 23 - Sanjay Gandhi, son of Indira Gandhi, dies in an air crash
- June 23–September 6 - Heat Wave of 1980
- June 25 - Muslim Brotherhood assassination attempt against Syrian president Hafez al-Assad fails. Assad retaliates by sending the army against them
- June 26 - A DC-9 belonging to the Italian Airline Itavia crashes into the sea near Naples after an explosion occurs in the air - 81 people dead - a bomb or a missile is suspected to be the cause of the accident but no culprits will ever be found
- June 29 - Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland

July-August


- July 9 - Pope John Paul II visits Brazil. Seven people crush to death in a crowd meeting him
- July 15 - A severe and destructive thunderstorm strikes four counties in western Wisconsin, including the city of Eau Claire. It caused over $250m in damage, and one person was killed.
- July 19 - Former Turkish Prime Minister Nihat Erim is killed by two gunmen in Istanbul, Turkey.
- July 19–August 3 - Summer Olympic Games in Moscow, USSR.
- July 30 - Vanuatu gains independence
- August 2 - A terrorist bombing at the railway station in Bologna, Italy kills 85 people and wounds more than 200.
- August 2 - Hurricane Allen hits landfall on Haiti and Jamaica in a Category 5, it reached Category 3 on Southern Texas on August 9 causing $2.6 billion on damage.
- August 14 - Lech Wałęsa leads the first of many strikes at the Gdańsk shipyard
- August 17 - In Australia, baby Azaria Chamberlain disappears from a campsite at Ayers Rock (Uluru), reportedly taken by a dingo

September-October


- September 5 - The St. Gothard Tunnel opens in Switzerland as the world's longest highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo.
- September 12 - Military coup in Turkey lead by Kenan Evren. It stopped political violence among gangs, but was the beginning of stronger state violence which lead to the execution of many young activists.
- September 17 - After weeks of strikes at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, Poland nationwide independent trade union Solidarity is established.
- September 17 - Former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle is killed in Asuncion, Paraguay
- September 22 - The command council of Iraq ordered its army to "deliver its fatal blow on Iranian military targets," initiating the Iran-Iraq War.
- September 26 - The Mariel Boatlift officially ends.
- September 29 - Washington Post publishes Janet Cooke's story of Jimmy, an 8-year-old heroin addict (later proven to be fabricated)
- September 30 - Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel and Xerox introduce the DIX standard for Ethernet, which was the first implementation outside of Xerox, and the first to support 10 Mbit/s speeds.
- October 14 - The Staggers Rail Act is enacted, deregulating American railroads.
- October 18 - Fraser Government re-elected for a third consecutive term in Australia
- October 27 - Six IRA prisoners in Maze prison refuse food and demand status as political prisoners - hunger strike lasts until December
- October 30 - El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.
- October 31 - Polish government recognizes Solidarity.
- October 31 - Mohammad Reza Shah, eldest son of the late shah of Iran, proclaimed himself the rightful successor to the Peacock Throne.

November-December


- November 4 - U.S. presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter by a wide margin.
- November 12 - Voyager program: The NASA space probe Voyager I makes its closest approach to Saturn when it flies within 77,000 miles of the planet's cloud-tops and sends the first high resolution images of the world back to scientists on Earth
- November 20 - The trial of the Gang of Four begins in China.
- November 21 - A fire at the MGM Grand Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada kills 87 people.
- November 21 - Millions of viewers tune into the TV soap opera Dallas to learn who shot lead character J.R. Ewing. The event is an international obsession.
- November 23 - A series of earthquakes in southern Italy kills approximately 4,800 people.
- December 8 - John Lennon is shot outside his New York apartment, by Mark Chapman.
- December 16 - During a summit on the island of Bali, the OPEC decides to raise the price of petroleum by 10%.
- December 26 - Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento", kills himself by overdose on San Quentin prison death row

Unknown dates


- Lawrence Klein is awarded the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
- Hassan Fathy and Plenty International / Stephen Gaskin are awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
- Victoria, Australia, decriminilises homosexual acts between consenting adults.

Births

January-February


- January 1 - Elin Nordegren, Swedish model
- January 2 - Rebekah Teasdale, British model and journalist
- January 7 - Gabriela Bazan, Peruvian activist
- January 8 - Rachel Nichols, American actress
- January 9 - Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- January 11 - Mike Williams, American football player
- January 14 - Cory Gibbs, American soccer player
- January 16 - Albert Pujols, Dominican Major League Baseball player
- January 16 - Michelle Wild, Hungarian actress
- January 22 - Christopher Masterson, American actor
- January 25 - Christian Olsson, Swedish athlete
- January 25 - Michelle McCool-Alexander, American professional wrestler
- January 27 - Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
- January 30 - Wilmer Valderrama, Venezuelan/Colombian-American comedian
- February 10 - César Izturis, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player
- February 11 - Natasha Bobo, American actress
- February 11 - Matthew Lawrence, American actor
- February 12 - Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
- February 12 - Christina Ricci, American actress
- February 16 - Ashley Lelie, American football player
- February 20 - Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player

March-June


- March 13 - Molly Stanton, American actress
- March 16 - Todd Heap, American football player
- March 18 - Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
- March 21 - Ronaldinho, Brazilian football player
- March 21 - Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- March 31 - Chien-Ming Wang, Taiwanese Major League Baseball player
- April 1 - Randy Orton, American professional wrestler
- April 1 - Takeuchi Yuko, Japanese actress
- April 17 - Brenda Villa, American water polo player
- April 20 - Jasmin Wagner, German singer
- April 20 - Channing Tatum, American actor and model
- April 21 - Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian hockey player
- May 7 - Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
- May 9 - Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
- May 18 - Matt Long, American actor
- May 24 - Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress
- May 30- Steven Gerrard, English footballer
- June 1 - Oliver James, British actor
- June 13 - Sarah Connor, German singer
- June 16 - Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- June 17 - Venus Williams, American tennis player
- June 19 - Jason White, American football player
- June 22 - Jade Marcela, American actress
- June 23 - Ramnaresh Sarwan, West Indian cricketer
- June 26 - Jason Schwartzman, American actor
- June 26 - Michael Vick, American football player
- June 29 - Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano

July-August


- July 3 - Roland Mark Schoeman, South African swimmer
- July 6 - Pau Gasol, Catalan basketball player
- July 7 - Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
- July 8 - Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
- July 10 - Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- July 10 - Jessica Simpson, American singer
- July 18 - Kristen Bell, American actress
- July 22 - Kate Ryan, Belgian singer
- July 24 - Gauge, American actress
- August 11 - Lee Suggs, American football player
- August 16 - Vanessa Carlton, American singer
- August 26 - Macaulay Culkin, American actor
- August 28 - Debra Lafave, American teacher
- August 29 - Nicholas Tse, Hong Kong singer

September-October


- September 3 - Jennie Finch, American softball player
- September 7 - Mark Prior, baseball player
- September 10 - Mikey Way, American bassist (My Chemical Romance)
- September 12 - Sean Burroughs, baseball player
- September 12 - Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player
- September 21 - Kareena Kapoor, Indian actress
- September 30 - Martina Hingis, Swiss tennis player
- October 4 - Me'Lisa Barber, American athlete
- October 13 - Ashanti, American musician
- October 14 - Terrence McGee, American football player
- October 16 - Sue Bird, American basketball player
- October 17 - Ekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
- October 28 - Alan Smith, English footballer
- October 28 - Christy Hemme, American Professional Wrestler

November-December


- November 12 - Ryan Gosling, Canadian actor
- November 16 - Kayte Christensen, American Basketball Player
- November 17 - Isaac Hanson, American musician
- November 21 - Hank Blalock, baseball player
- December 6 - Steve Lovell, English footballer
- December 7 - John Terry, English footballer
- December 10 - Sarah Chang, American violinist
- December 10 - Alexa Rae, American (pornographic film) actress
- December 18 - Christina Aguilera, American singer
- December 19 - Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor
- December 19 - Marla Sokoloff, American actress
- December 30 - Eliza Dushku, American actress

Deaths

January-April


- January 3 - Joy Adamson, Austrian-born conservationist and author (murdered) (b. 1910)
- January 8 - John Mauchly, American physicist and inventor (b. 1907)
- January 10 - George Meany, American labor leader (b. 1894)
- January 18 - Sir Cecil Beaton, English photographer (b. 1904)
- January 29 - Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and comedian (b. 1893)
- January 30 - Professor Longhair, American musician (b. 1918)
- February 2 - William Howard Stein, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- February 7 - Secondo Campini, Italian jet pioneer (b. 1904)
- February 13 - David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931)
- February 19 - Bon Scott, Scottish-born singer (AC/DC) (b. 1946)
- February 20 - J.B. Rhine, parapsychologist (b. 1895)
- March 5 - Jay Silverheels, American actor (b. 1912)
- March 16 - Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (b. 1898)
- March 25 - Walter Susskind, Czech conductor (b. 1913)
- March 29 - Mantovani, Italian-born conductor and arranger (b. 1905)
- March 31 - Vladimír Holan, Czech poet (b. 1905)
- March 31 - Jesse Owens, American athlete (b. 1913)
- April 12 - Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker and billiards player (b. 1895)
- April 15 - Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- April 24 - Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer (b. 1904)
- April 29 - Alfred Hitchcock, British film director (b. 1899)

May-September


- May 4 - Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
- May 18 - Ian Curtis, British musician and singer (Joy Division) (b. 1956)
- May 28 - Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician (b. 1895)
- June 7 - Henry Miller, American writer (b. 1891)
- June 12 - Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
- June 13 - Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and political figure (b. 1942)
- June 21 - Bert Kaempfert, German orchestra leader and songwriter (b. 1923)
- June 23 - Clyfford Still, American painter (b. 1904)
- July - Robert Brackman, American painter (b. 1898)
- July 7 - Dore Schary, American film writer, director, and producer (b. 1905)
- July 17 - Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician (b. 1890)
- July 24 - Peter Sellers, English actor (b. 1925)
- July 26 - Kenneth Tynan, English theatre critic (b. 1927)
- July 27 - Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran (b. 1919)
- August 7 - Jackie Cochran, American pilot (b. 1906)
- August 10 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan (b. 1917)
- August 14 - Dorothy Stratten, Canadian model (murdered) (b. 1960)
- August 24 - Yootha Joyce, British actress (b. 1927)
- September 8 - Willard Libby, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- September 16 - Jean Piaget, Swiss psychologist (b. 1896)
- September 25 - John Bonham, British drummer (Led Zeppelin) (b. 1948)

October-December


- October 25 - Virgil Fox, American organist (b. 1912)
- October 25 - Victor Galindez, Argentine boxer (race car accident) (b. 1948)
- October 27 - John Hasbrouck van Vleck, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- November 4 - Elsie MacGill, Canadian aeronautical engineer (b. 1904)
- November 7 - Steve McQueen, American actor (b. 1930)
- November 20 - John McEwen, eighteenth Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1900)
- November 22 - Mae West, American actress (b. 1893)
- December 2 - Romain Gary, Lithuanian-born writer (b. 1914)
- December 4 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
- December 4 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-born runner (b. 1911)
- December 7 - Darby Crash, American songwriter, singer for The Germs (heroin overdose) (b. 1958)
- December 8 - John Lennon, British singer, songwriter, and guitarist (The Beatles) (murdered) (b. 1940)
- December 16 - Harland Sanders, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1890)
- December 16 - Hellmuth Walter, German engineer and inventor (b. 1900)
- December 24 - Karl Dönitz, President of Germany (b. 1891)
- December 29 - Tim Hardin, American musician (b. 1941)
- December 31 - Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and professor (b. 1911)

Unknown dates


- Clement Martyn Doke, South African linguist

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - James Watson Cronin, Val Logsdon Fitch
- Chemistry - Paul Berg, Walter Gilbert, Frederick Sanger
- Medicine - Baruj Benacerraf, Jean Dausset, George D. Snell
- Literature - Czeslaw Milosz
- Peace - Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

Templeton Prize


- Prof. Ralph Burhoe Category:1980 als:1980 ko:1980년 ja:1980年 simple:1980 th:พ.ศ. 2523

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in all south Slavic languages, in Cyrillic Југославија) is a term used for three separate but successive political entities that existed during most of the 20th century on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. Translated, the name means Land of the South Slavs (jug in the word Jugoslavija means south).
- The first was a kingdom formed in 1918 as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was re-named the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929 and existed under that name until it was invaded in 1941 by the Axis powers.
- The second was a Socialist state established immediately after World War II in 1945 as Democratic Federation of Yugoslavia (DFY), which in 1946 became the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (FPRY) and in April 7 1963 the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This remained in place until 1992, by which time four of its six constituent republics - Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - had seceded.
- The third was called Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and was formed in 1992 on the territory of the remaining republics of Serbia (including the autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and of Kosovo, officially known as Kosovo and Metohija) and Montenegro. In 2001, the name Yugoslavia was to be officially abolished when the state would transform into a loose commonwealth called Serbia and Montenegro which finally happened on February 4, 2003.

Origins

Probably the first "official" mention of the term Yugoslav (as opposed to simply south Slav) was the forming of the group of advocates of a joint country of South Slavs, by politicians from Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were then both in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. On November 22, 1914, Ante Trumbić, Frano Supilo, Ivan Meštrović, Hinko Hinković and Franko Potočnjak from Croatia and Nikola Stojanović and Dušan Vasiljević from Bosnia and Herzegovina first met with Pavle Popović, a representative of Nikola Pašić's Serbian government, on neutral ground in Florence, Italy, in an effort to coordinate their efforts towards building an independent state of western South Slavs. Lujo Vojnović was also present as an observer from the Kingdom of Montenegro. The new "Yugoslav" cause (from Jugosloven, meaning "Southern Slav") was receiving an increasing amount of support: in the western states, the people were generally tired of Austria-Hungary and a union with the eastern states was probably seen as the best way to come out of the anomie caused by the Great War. Even the large diasporas, known for their nostalgia and patriotism, started supporting the new idea. The Yugoslav Committee (Jugoslavenski odbor) was officially formed on April 30th, 1915 in London, and the aforementioned politicians were its members. The Committee and the Kingdom of Serbia subsequently signed the Corfu Declaration on July 20, 1917 that declared their desire to form a new joint kingdom.

The First Yugoslavia

Main article: Kingdom of Yugoslavia The goals of the Yugoslav Committee were partly reached by the end of the First World War in 1918, when Austria-Hungary disintegrated, and the South Slavs organized into the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. This short-lived state soon, on December 1, 1918, joined Serbia and Montenegro to form "The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes". On June 28 1921, — a day of historical importance to Serbs (see Vidovdan) — parliament (Skupština) passed a new constitution despite a boycott from Croatian MPs. The constitution centralized political authority and strengthened the power of the royal government in Belgrade. In 1928, Puniša Račić, an ethnic Serbian nationalist leader from Montenegro, shot and killed Croatian Peasant Party leader Stjepan Radić in the parliament chambers. King Alexander (Aleksandar) used the shooting as a pretext to strengthen his power and on January 6, 1929 he suspended the constitution, dissolved the Skupština and proclaimed a royal dictatorship. He went on to reorganize the regional divisions within the country and renamed it the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. All national identities except "Yugoslav" were abolished. Yugoslavia became a highly militarized state, which spawned several insurgent nationalist groups opposed to the royal dictatorship. The king was highly unpopular, particularly among non-Serbs, and while on a visit to Marseille, France in 1934, he was assassinated by Bulgarian nationalist and IMRO activist Velichko Kerin (more popular with his revolutionary pseudonym Vlado Chernosemski). His son and successor, Peter II (Petar II), was a child, so power fell into the hands of the ineffectual Prince Paul (Pavle), who continued on an authoritarian path with the prime minister Milan Stojadinović. In the beginning of World War II, Yugoslavia was pressured by Germany and Italy to join the Axis powers. Italy was mired in an inconclusive war with Greece, and before Germany committed its forces to the Greek campaign, it wanted to secure Yugoslavia's support. Prince Paul submitted to the fascist pressure and signed the Tripartite Treaty in Vienna on March 25, 1941, hoping to still keep Yugoslavia out of the war. But this was at the expense of popular support for Paul's regency. Senior military officers were also opposed to the treaty and launched a