Dr. Marie-Eve Bouchard, Assistant Professor of French Sociolinguistics, shares about her latest research project that aims to combat discrimination and promote an appreciation of linguistic diversity, especially in Canada.
Dr. Marie-Eve Bouchard, Assistant Professor of French
Promoting Linguistic Diversity
“There exists a hierarchization of the different accents in the French-speaking world. One way to raise awareness regarding language diversity is to expose French learners to these different accents.”
When I started teaching at UBC, I quickly realized that French learners in our department demonstrate a great interest in learning a European variety of French, which many consider to be the “standard” form. This is likely related to language ideologies that are reproduced in society and at post-secondary institutions. My observations corroborate the results of my Hampton Grant project, titled “A preliminary examination of language attitudes among learners of French in higher education: Toward greater awareness and appreciation of diversity,” which showed that French learners at UBC value certain varieties of French more than others. This is not surprising, as there exists a hierarchization of the different accents in the French-speaking world.
I believe that one way to raise awareness regarding language diversity is to expose French learners to these different accents. Therefore, since last fall I have been working on a new research project called “Speaking Atlas of French Varieties in Canada” (Atlas sonore des variétés de français du Canada) which aims to: 1) to raise awareness among French learners and linguistic students about language variation, and 2) to provide a learning tool that will allow them to see, discuss, and hopefully appreciate that variation. Studying variation is important in order to recognize and value linguistic diversity.
This project is funded by the UBC Language Sciences Institute, and is a new collaboration with Dr. Amanda Cardoso from the UBC Linguistics Department.
“The objective of this project is to create a webpage that offers a visual and an auditive map of different varieties of French across Canada.”
Native French-speaking participants from all around Canada are invited to record themselves reading a short story, tell us about the role of French in their everyday life, and then upload the audio files to our webpage and fill out a demographic questionnaire.
I will use the recordings to create a sound map of French-speaking Canada that will be freely accessible online. It will then be possible to click on different villages, towns and cities of Canada and hear the accent(s) of the people who live there. This education tool will be useful in the (socio)linguistics courses offered at UBC as well as in the French courses in the Department of French, Hispanic and Italian Studies (FHIS). In addition, it is hoped that this project will familiarize students in FHIS with sociolinguistic research.
It will be interesting to hear about the importance and role of French language in the participants’ everyday lives. What will they say? Will the stories from the people in Quebec (where French is spoken by the majority of the population) be different from the people in British Columbia (where French is a minority language)? Will older participants share stories that are very different from younger participants? What factors influence the different relationships one can have with the French language? Those answers will be found in the participants’ stories and life experiences.
Interestingly, the French-speaking communities across Canada are really interested in this project and many people have contacted me by e-mail (I love it when people do that!). I was also interviewed twice by Radio-Canada (Toronto and Vancouver). This indicates to me that the project is accessible to non-scholars and meaningful to the reality of Canadian French-speakers. I am looking forward to having enough participants and recordings to create the webpage and start sharing it! Participate here.
Combatting Discrimination
“Some language varieties are perceived as more 'prestigious' while others are socially stigmatized.”
Many people experience discrimination based on the language they speak or how they speak it. It can lead to disadvantages and inequalities in education, employment, health and housing. Although linguists agree that all language varieties are equally valuable, it is a myth that they are generally considered as such. This is because some language varieties are perceived as more “prestigious” while others are socially stigmatized.
Examples of language discrimination within the Canadian context would be, for instance, the favouring of certain accents from the province of Quebec (Montreal and Quebec City) in the Canadian media; considering native speakers of French to sound “smarter” than non-native speakers; or mimicking accents that are perceived as non-standard or minoritized.
To examine power dynamics is to confront a truth about discrimination processes in contexts where social differences are continually being created and perpetuated. Many would agree that the discriminations that exist in today’s world result from the Eurocentric colonial structure of power. They are the legacy of the initial colonialism that outlived formal and temporal colonialism and became integrated in today’s modernity and power structures.
When we look at power dynamics and structures in contact settings, we see that the classification of individuals into groups that are superior and inferior means that their languages (or language varieties, accents, etc.) are also classified in terms of superiority and inferiority. In sociolinguistics, we question the hierarchies, categorizations, and power dynamics that are too often taken for granted in our societies. We aim to demonstrate the links between language use, social change and social justice across the different groups that constitute our societies.
What can we do to address language discrimination? We can become more aware of our own prejudices, avoid participating in conversations where language discrimination is happening, be patient with non-native speakers, and expose ourselves to the different varieties of accents that exist in the French-speaking world.
Social justice is very often at the core of my research projects. With the sound map project, the main issue I aim to address is the (de)valuing of the different varieties of French in Canada. I hope that offering an education tool that makes these varieties more accessible to French learners (and Francophiles in general) will familiarize them with linguistic diversity.
Get Involved
If you are a native speaker of Canadian French, you can participate in the “Speaking Atlas of French Varieties in Canada” project here:
