French in Canada : Language Issues

This book analyses comprehensively the complex linguistic situation in Canada focusing particularly on the position of the French language at both national and provincial levels. Language issues in Canada are of great interest to linguists and sociolinguists for many reasons, not least because of Canada’s policy of official bilingualism (Official Languages Act, 1969). The authors address a wide range of topics of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of French and Linguistics as well as readers with a specialist interest in Canadian or Quebec Studies. Individual chapters discuss the historical background to the presence of French in Canada, language policy and planning at federal and provincial levels, the changing linguistic landscape of Canada in the twenty-first century, the multilingual community, language contact, code-switching, immersion education and the language of the L2 speaker, the dynamics of French in Canada, language variation and change. The status of French in Canada is of relevance to all researchers with an interest in multilingualism, a crucial issue in this era of globalisation. The authors bring their expertise as linguists to bear on a subject which is of considerable importance internationally as well as within Canada.