Redefining Regional French

This study challenges the orthodox view that emergent regional varieties of French represent no more than an ephemeral dialect residue of little theoretical interest. This book will therefore interest both students of French and of language variation more generally.

New regional varieties of French are currently emerging. The orthodox view considers them no more than an ephemeral dialect residue of little theoretical interest. Hornsby challenges that view by following the life cycle of an obsolescent urban Picard variety, spoken in a mining town in the Pas-de-Calais, and unravelling the complex reasons why some local variants survive and others perish. Applying a sociolinguist model developed by Peter Trudgill, Hornsby shows how the processes of levelling and simplification have given rise to a new, stable variety or koine. This is compared with other new urban varieties in Sweden and the UK, where different economic, social and demographic conditions have produced very different linguistic outcomes. Will the emergence of Regional French in the north herald the start of a new diversification of French in Europe?