French

A language for everyone in Québec

Bibliographic Data

ID6307093
AuthorsLeigh Oakes (0000-0002-8707-7953, Queen Mary University of London, corresponding author)
Year2004
Volume10
Issue4
Pages539-558
Publication date2004-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNations and Nationalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1345-5078 • E-ISSN: 1469-8129
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1354-5078.2004.00181.x
OpenAlexW2132872428
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited22

With the realisation that the future of French in Québec depends on its adoption by a growing number of immigrants, efforts have intensified in recent years to promote a less ethnic and more civic conception of Québécois identity. As attested by the title of the final report of the Commission des États généraux sur la situation et l'avenir de la langue française au Québec (French, a Language for Everyone), a key component of this new conception is the idea that French should be a langue publique commune (common public language) for all those residing in Québec, irrespective of ethnic origin. This article examines the notion of langue publique commune in more detail. While the concept assumes that language can somehow be ‘de‐ethnicised’ to become the property of all ethnic groups, observations made in other contexts only confirm the inextricable link between language and the ethnic, as opposed to the civic, dimension of national identity. The article also investigates the issue of language motivation, in particular the related challenge faced by the Québécois authorities of how to encourage so‐called new Quebecers to adopt French as their language of public communications

Commission · Ethnic group · French · Identity (music · Immigration · Linguistics · Political science · Public sphere · Realisation · Sociology · Anthropology · Canadian Identity and History · Education, sociology, and vocational training · Law · Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies · Philosophy

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