Quebec French: From Paris' Shadow to Its Own Groove?

Overview

Paper Summary › Explain Like I'm Five › Conflicts of Interest › Identified Limitations › Rating Explanation › Good to know › Topic Hierarchy › File Information ›

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title

The study reveals a shift in standard language ideology among Québécois language columnists over the 20th century, moving from a strongly monocentric view focused on the French of France towards a more pluricentric acceptance of Québécois French. This shift is linked less to regional linguistic features and more to a growing concern about the influence of English on French, suggesting that 'ideal' French is now defined more by its resistance to anglicisms than by its proximity to Parisian norms.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that people in Quebec used to think French from France was the only "right" French. But over time, they started to accept their own Quebec French, especially if it didn't use too many English words.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Limitations

Limited Corpus Size

The limited corpus size of 300 articles, while allowing for detailed analysis, may not fully capture the nuances and complexities of evolving language ideologies over such a broad time period (1920s-1990s).

Lack of Socio-Political Context

While the study examines the shift in standard language ideology, it doesn't delve into the socio-political factors that might have contributed to this change, such as the Quiet Revolution and Bill 101, beyond a cursory mention.

Limited Perspective

The study focuses primarily on language columnists' views, potentially overlooking other important perspectives on standard language ideology, such as those of educators, writers, or the general public.

Lack of Discussion on Implications

Although the shift toward a pluricentric view is highlighted, the study doesn't explore the potential implications of this shift for language policy, language teaching, or language use in Quebec.

Rating Explanation

This paper offers a valuable contribution to understanding the evolution of standard language ideology in Quebec. The detailed discourse analysis provides insightful findings, and the focus on language columnists is a novel approach. However, the limited corpus size, lack of in-depth socio-political context, and focus on a single perspective restrict the scope and impact of the study, leading to a rating of 3.

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Topic Hierarchy

Domain: Social Sciences

Field: Arts and Humanities

Subfield: Philosophy

File Information

Original Title: The French language: monocentric or pluricentric? Standard language ideology and attitudes towards the French language in 20th-century language columns in Quebec.

Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 06:59 AM

Privacy: Public