FJ2B033 French in North America

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025

The course is not taught in Spring 2025

Extent and Intensity
1/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. Christophe Gérard L. Cusimano (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Christophe Gérard L. Cusimano
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
There is no specific prerequsite, but students should be at least in third year of bachelor's degree.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 40 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/40, only registered: 0/40, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/40
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
This course is an opportunity to revisit the concepts of norm and variation through the particular case of the impregnation of the northern part of America by French. We can thus measure whether these varieties of French (or "adulterous French" as said Paul Wijnands, 2005) in North America must be understood as a deviation from the norm, variations, or as independent of such concepts.
Learning outcomes
We will focus on French in North America. It will also try to relate these facts to the history of language, necessarily linked to the history of the territories where it is spoken.
Syllabus
  • 1) What is called "norm"? 2) The language war 3) Language politics 4) Language politics in Canada [PRESENTATION 1] 5) Variationist sociolinguistics 6) Louisiane and linguistics : diglossia ? [PRESENTATION 2] 7) Linguistic relativity or Sapir-Whorf hypothesis 8) Sociolinguistics - key concepts [PRESENTATION 3] 9) Conclusion
Literature
  • BULOT, Thierry and Philippe BLANCHET. Une introduction à la sociolinguistique : pour l'étude des dynamiques de la langue française dans le monde. Paris: Éditions des archives contemporaines, 2013, 166 s. ISBN 9782813000859. info
  • BLANCHET, Alain and Anne GOTMAN. L'enquête et ses méthodes : l'entretien. Edited by François de Syngly. Barcelone: Armand Colin, 2005, 127 s. ISBN 2200342349. info
  • SAPIR, Edward. Le langage : introduction à l'étude de la parole. Translated by S. M. Guillemin. Paris: Payot & Rivages, 2001, 284 s. ISBN 2228894907. info
  • CALVET, Louis-Jean. La sociolinguistique. 3e éd. corr. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1998, 127 s. ISBN 2130452515. info
  • Sociolinguistique : les concepts de base. Edited by Marie-Louise Moreau. Sprimont: Mardaga, 1997, 312 s. ISBN 2-87009-664-X. info
  • LABOV, William. Principles of linguistic change. 1st pub. Oxford: Blackwell, 1994, xix, 641. ISBN 0631179143. info
  • SAPIR, Edward. Linguistique. Translated by Jean-Élie Boltanski - Nicole Soulé-Susbielles. [Paris]: Gallimard, 1991, 287 s. ISBN 2070326179. info
  • CALVET, Louis-Jean. Les Langues véhiculaires. 1. éd. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1981, 127 s. ISBN 2130368883. info
  • SAPIR, Edward. Language : an introduction to the study of speech. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1921, vii, 258. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, group projects and homeworks
Assessment methods
No final exam, only oral presentations during the semester
Language of instruction
French
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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