“We created a sound map that offers a visual and auditive map of different varieties of French across Canada.”
This project is a new collaboration between Marie-Eve Bouchard (Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies) and Amanda Cardoso (Department of Linguistics) at the University of British Columbia. We created a sound map of French-speaking Canada that offers a visual and auditive map of different varieties of French across Canada. French-speaking participants from all around Canada sent us recordings to tell us about the role the French language plays in their lives. These audio files were used to create the sound map; people can now click on different cities, towns and villages of Canada to listen to the local French accents. Participants are still invited to send us their recordings and we are excited to see this project grow!
Origin and Goals of the Project
“A secondary goal is to recognize and value different varieties of French that are perceived as non-standard.”
The fundamental reason for this project is that the French varieties spoken in minority and/or English-dominant contexts in Canada are not adequately documented compared to French varieties in majority contexts (as in Quebec, for instance), and French speakers and learners are rarely exposed to these varieties. This creates inequalities and a hierarchization of the different varieties of French, with certain varieties being perceived as more prestigious while others are socially stigmatized. Additionally, studies have shown the importance of exposing learners of French to as many varieties of French as possible, and not just to the variety spoken by teachers or the one(s) considered to be standard or more prestigious.
The primary goal of this project is to provide a learning tool (a website) that will allow French teachers, speakers, and learners to discover, experience, discuss, and hopefully appreciate language variation in Canada. The secondary goals of this project are 1) to raise awareness about linguistic and cultural diversity in Canada through the use of an education tool, 2) to recognize and value different varieties of French that are perceived as non-standard, 3) to foster respect through inclusive language education, and 4) to collect new data that will, hopefully, lead to a SSHRC-IDG application.
Acknowledgments
This project exists thanks to UBC Language Sciences Institute, OER Fund Rapid Innovation Grant and SSRHC Explore Grant. Thank you to the UBC students who helped us setup this project: Bebo Elhosary (Computer Science), Roger Lo (Linguistics), Josie Klein (Anthropology), Icy Exiomo (FHIS) and Mackenzie Dixon (FHIS). I am also deeply thankful to all the participants who sent us their audio recordings for the project. They were brave! They did so before seeing what the webpage would look like!
