Few people foresaw humanity\u2019s quest for the moon as accurately as the 19th-century French author Jules Verne, whose two works \u2013From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon \u2013 anticipated many of the features of modern lunar exploration.<\/p>\n
But Verne\u2019s language had never been spoken in deep space until the Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen uttered four words during Nasa\u2019s recent Artemis II<\/a> mission.<\/p>\n On day three of the mission, as the Integrity spacecraft hurtled towards the moon, Jeremy Hansen turned to a camera. \u201cBonjour tout le monde,\u201d he said from nearly 125,000 miles away \u2013 a greeting with a literal translation that captured the immensity of the journey: hello all of the world.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in history, our language, the French language, was expressed en route to the moon,\u201d posted a Canadian parliamentarian. \u201cNever had French been spoken from so far away.\u201d<\/p>\n Hansen\u2019s decision to speak French, during the mission and at a Nasa press conference on his return to the Earth, came shortly after a linguistic row<\/a> \u2013 and public relations nightmare \u2013 for Canada\u2019s flagship airline, that underscored how deeply the language is linked to the country\u2019s politics and culture.<\/p>\n Artemis II mission astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, Victor Glover and Reid Wiseman at a welcoming ceremony in Houston on 11 April. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The Air Canada<\/a> chief Michael Rousseau was forced to resign last month amid a storm of indignation after he spoke just two words of French in a video tribute to two pilots killed in a fatal collision<\/a>. One of the pilots was a native French speaker, and Air Canada is based in Montreal, and Rousseau\u2019s failure to speak the language \u2013 despite having a francophone mother and wife \u2013 has been seen as a snub to the 80% of Quebec\u2019s population who do.<\/p>\n Even Canada\u2019s prime minster waded into the dispute, saying the video showed a \u201clack of judgment, a lack of compassion\u201d.<\/p>\n Weeks later, Mark Carney had nothing but praise for Hansen as the Artemis crew hurtled towards the moon.<\/p>\n \u201cCanadians are so proud of you for a number of reasons, of course, but it was incredible to hear you speak French for the first time in space,\u201d he said while speaking French to the astronaut. \u201cProud of what you\u2019re doing \u2026 We\u2019ve all been watching and inspired by what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n The conversation between two anglophones \u2013 addressing each other in heavily accented French \u2013 prompted widespread praise among many Canadians.<\/p>\n \u201cFrancophones in Canada will celebrate those efforts. Neither of those men speak perfect French. They likely never will. But to see them make that effort publicly and very openly resonates with francophones across the country,\u201d said St\u00e9phanie Chouinard, a professor of political science at Canada\u2019s Royal Military College, the postsecondary institution Hansen attended. \u201cThe expectation here is not perfection, it\u2019s effort and respect.\u201d<\/p>\n Hansen learned French earlier in school and had to reach a high level of proficiency, in order to graduate from the RMC. He still frequently uses French in public outreach events and often answers questions from Canadians bilingually. For many, Hansen appears to treat French as part of the job of representing Canada and Air Canada\u2019s chief seemed to treat the language as optional.<\/p>\n \u201cAside from firefighters, astronauts are probably the profession that children most look up to. And for Hansen to put himself out there and to make that effort \u2013 and to show that it\u2019s always a work in progress \u2013 is the best kind of role modeling you can hope for\u201d said Chouinard. \u201cFrench doesn\u2019t go a long way in the hallways of Nasa. [But] he knows he represents Canada \u2013 and sees it as something worth showcasing as important. This speaks volumes.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Rousseau, who resigned after the video storm. Photograph: Nick Lachance\/Toronto Star\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Online forums<\/a> have discussed the astronaut\u2019s heavily accented French, with most agreeing it was impressive. And many flagged the obvious: it was the opposite level of effort to Air Canada\u2019s outgoing CEO.<\/p>\n Hansen has spoken publicly about his desire to represent the people who live in Canada as best he can. He has forged close relationships with Indigenous elders to better understand the cultural importance of the 13 moon calendar, shared by the Anishinaabe, Cree and Haudenosaunee cultures, that guides planting, harvesting, hunting and gathering.<\/p>\n The Artemis II mission left Earth during Ziisbaakdoke Giizis, which means the sugar marking moon in Anishinaabemowin \u2013 a time widely seen as a time of renewal when the maple sap runs.<\/p>\n Hansen\u2019s custom patch<\/a>, which he wore for the mission, was designed by the Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond. Part of the image shows Artemis launching her arrow with the astronauts, sending them around \u201cGrandmother Moon\u201d who reflects the \u201ccycle of life\u201d.<\/p>\n Jeremy Hansen\u2019s custom mission patch. Photograph: CSA<\/p>\n \u201cSit with your elders and ask questions,\u201d Hansen said from space. \u201cEvery time I\u2019ve listened, I\u2019ve learned amazing things.\u201d<\/p>\n Upon return to Earth, the Artemis crew appeared moved by the deeply human experience of leaving the planet. Hansen later said it made him realize humans were \u201csmall and powerless \u2013 yet powerful together\u201d.<\/p>\n Recent developments in artificial intelligence<\/a> and wearable technology<\/a> have led some to suggest that learning a second language is no longer important. But the Canadian astronaut\u2019s decision to deliberately speak French, with the world watching reflected the deep cultural component embedded in learning and respecting another language.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, language is a tool of information, exchange and communication. But it\u2019s so much more than that. Anyone who decides to learn to speak another language than their own, realizes the extent to which any language comes with a specific conception of the world and the universe around us,\u201d said Chouinard. \u201cIt\u2019s really a way to learn to see the world \u2013 our world \u2013 through a different lens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Few people foresaw humanity\u2019s quest for the moon as accurately as the 19th-century French author Jules Verne, whose…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[85,46,141,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-400114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-space"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}