Sociolinguistics Symposium 19
Freie Universität Berlin | August 21-24, 2012
Programme: accepted abstracts
Abstract ID: 598
Part of Session 100: Montreal, a francophone, anglophone and multilingual city (Other abstracts in this session)
The phonetic outcome of complex language dynamics in defining ethnolinguistic categories in Montreal
Authors: Friesner, Michael (1); Blondeau, Hélène (2)
Submitted by: Friesner, Michael (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
The population of Montreal is typically classified into three distinct communities—Anglophone, Francophone, and Allophone (i.e., “other”)—both by official organizations such as Statistics Canada and in locals’ casual descriptions. However, as our study shows, individual members of the community often have life trajectories that do not categorize them neatly into one of these groups but rather that are more complex. This complexity is reflected in these speakers’ linguistic behavior, in terms of the phonetic outcome in their use of each of the languages in their repertoire.
In this study, we examine the linguistic behavior in French of individuals who, if classified according to parents’ geographic and ethnic origin, would be associated with one of two groups: “Hispanophone” (originating from Latin America, with Spanish as a native language) and “Québécois Francophone” (originating from Canada and having French as a native language). Through a perception experiment and analysis of specific linguistic variables, we demonstrate that within each of these groups there is a great deal of phonetic variation, and that this variation is the result of speakers’ sociosymbolic orientation and specific sociodemographic factors.
In the perception experiment, native French-speaking Quebeckers were presented with French recordings and asked to evaluate whether the samples they heard were drawn from speakers of traditional “Québécois” origin; if not, they were asked what they believed the ethnolinguistic origin of the speakers to be. We find that speakers of Latin American heritage vary widely in terms of the groups with which they are associated, while the Québécois speakers are generally identifiable as such. Québécois speakers who originate from predominantly English-speaking neighborhoods are sometimes identified as Anglophone.
In the linguistic variable analysis, we focused on typical Québec French features which differentiate this variety from European French (t/d-affrication, high vowel laxing, and final-a backing), as well as features that might reflect influence from Spanish (/z/ devoicing and use of apical r) or English (voiceless stop aspiration and nasal stop epenthesis following nasal vowels). Our findings suggest that speakers vary in terms of exhibiting traditional Québécois linguistic features in a way that does not correspond to parents’ origin, but which does relate to individual self-identifications, social networks, and neighborhoods. Speakers with ties to the Anglophone community, whether due to English-speaking social networks, family members, or neighbors, are occasionally identified as Anglophone and exhibit some features reminiscent of English influence. These speakers are also among the most proficient in English, in particular with regard to having near-native-like English pronunciation.
Our findings and explorations demonstrate not only the multifaceted nature of ethnic identification but also the various factors that contribute to determine individuals’ linguistic behavior in the languages within their repertoire. These results point to the necessity, especially in the unique context of the metropolis of Montreal, for looking at individual portraits and life histories in the examination of ethnicity as a sociolinguistic variable and in understanding the complex interplay of social groups.