Sociolinguistics Symposium 19
Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012
Programme: accepted abstracts
Abstract ID: 173
Thematic Session (Papers belonging to this Thematic Session)
Urban Francophone Language Practices in North America: A Comparative Approach
Authors: Blondeau, Helene; King, Ruth; Martineau, France
Submitted by: Blondeau, Helene (University of Florida, United States of America)
Topic: This session explores urban Francophone language practices in North America, home to a wide variety of language contact situations (Sankoff 2001, Bayley & King 2003, Papen & Chevalier 2006). As a language of migration, North American French has spread over the course of just a few centuries across geopolitical borders which have themselves undergone numerous changes (Mougeon & Beniak 1994, Valdman et al 2005). As a contact language, it bears the traces of exchanges with other communities throughout its history (Mougeon & Beniak 1991, King 2008). The French language is used not only in relation to the English language, but, particularly in the case of large cities, in relation to a variety of other languages, many of which are the result of recent immigration (Heller & Labrie 2003). The diversity of sociolinguistic situations in present-day North America likewise includes minority and majority language contexts as well as varying degrees of ethnolinguistic vitality.
The comparative approach adopted in this session will enable the identification of those transversal tendencies which characterize the language practices of Francophone communities in North America past and present (Chaudenson, Mougeon & Beniak 1994; Gadet & Jones 2008; Martineau 2009). In addition, it will allow the identification of anchored language practices and particular language patterns characteristic of specific francophone communities.
The session will focus on North American urban cities, important sites for the study of exchange and contact phenomena and for the study of language practice dynamics. North American urban space shows constant flux, with speakers of various origins integrating varieties of the dominant language (French and∕or English), as well as other languages, into their linguistic repertoire. Variation and change in North American French has been documented by numerous quantitative sociolinguistic studies of various speech communities in North America. In addition, the study of language representations and ideologies and their relation to the creation of new identities also figure in the recent literature (Heller 2003, 2006, King 2008, Boudreau 2009, Blondeau & Fonollosa 2009). As a locus of passage, a point of entry, departure or establishment, the city and its periphery has become a social space claimed by young immigrants (Blondeau & Friesner 2011). In addition, the urban multicultural context in and of itself also raises the issue of the role of schools as normative institutions instilling community standards (Landry & Allard 1997, Lamarre 2007, Boivin et al 2010).The exploration of flux and migration toward or away from the city, back-and-forth movements among neighborhoods or social networks within the same city, contact among generations of speakers, and passages from one language to another will shed light on re/constructions of discourses about language and use. The unified approach adopted in this session will contribute to identifying contemporary issues facing both French-speaking minorities and majorities living in increasingly multicultural communities. Given the broad nature of the research questions, a variety of methodological approaches will be welcome.
Preliminary Discussion Questions:
What are the transversal tendencies which identify urban varieties of North American French?
How have localized varieties of North-American French been affected by the sociolinguistic reconfiguration of contemporary cities?
How do educational institutions serve to focus and stabilize ideas about authentic language use and how do these ideas affect local language practices?