YorkSpace has migrated to a new version of its software. Access our Help Resources to learn how to use the refreshed site. Contact diginit@yorku.ca if you have any questions about the migration.
 

First-person plural in Prince Edward Island Acadian French: The fate of the vernacular variant je...ons

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date

2004

Authors

King, Ruth
Nadasdi, Terry
Butler, Gary

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Abstract

In Atlantic Canada Acadian communities, definite on is in competition with the traditional vernacular variant je . . . ons (e.g., on parle vs. je parlons “we speak”), with the latter variant stable only in isolated communities, but losing ground in communities in which there is substantial contact with external varieties of French. We analyze the distribution of the two variants in two Prince Edward Island communities that differ in terms of amount of such contact. The results of earlier studies of Acadian French are confirmed in that je . . . ons usage remains robust in the more isolated community but is much lower in the less isolated one. However, in the latter community, the declining variant, while accounting for less than 20% of tokens for the variable, has not faded away. Although it is not used at all by some speakers, it is actually the variant of choice for others, and for still other speakers, it has taken on a particular discourse function, that of indexing narration. Comparison with variation in the third-person plural, in which a traditional variant is also in competition with an external variant, shows that the decline of je . . . ons is linked to its greater saliency, making it a prime candidate for social reevaluation.

Description

Keywords

French -- Prince Edward Island, Sociolinguistic variation, Minority Language Variation, French

Citation

Language Variation and Change; 16 (3): 237-255