Language attitudes in Quebec: a contemporary perspective
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Language attitudes studies are a central part of both sociolinguistics and social
psychology, and Quebec, Canada’s only province with a francophone majority, has
proved to be one of the most fascinating places for this kind of research. This thesis is
an investigation of the attitudes that anglophone, francophone and allophone
Quebecers – both immigrants as well as those who were born in the province – hold
towards English, Quebec French and European French.
The first part of the thesis provides the context for the author’s own research. It
outlines the most relevant events in Quebec history and explains the current social and
linguistic situation in the province. Furthermore, it provides an introduction to attitude
theory in general and language attitudes in particular, before summarising the most
significant previous investigations into language attitudes in Quebec. The second part
of the thesis focuses on a language attitudes study conducted amongst 164 Montreal
college students in the autumn of 2007. The study made use of two different
methodologies: a direct method (questionnaire) and an indirect method (the so-called
matched-guise technique). The results of each method of inquiry are first presented
separately, before being compared and analysed in the light of the current social and
linguistic situation in the province of Quebec.
Authors
Kircher, RuthCollections
- Theses [3930]