McNair Scholars Journal Volume 12 | Issue 1 Article 7 2008 Considering Language Convergence in Ontario: An Examination of Variation in Hearst French Ryan Rosso Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair Recommended Citation Rosso, Ryan (2008) "Considering Language Convergence in Ontario: An Examination of Variation in Hearst French," McNair Scholars Journal: Vol. 12: Iss. 1, Article 7. Available at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mcnair/vol12/iss1/7 Copyright © 2008 by the authors. McNair Scholars Journal is reproduced electronically by ScholarWorks@GVSU. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/ mcnair?utm_source=scholarworks.gvsu.edu%2Fmcnair%2Fvol12%2Fiss1%2F7&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages Considering Language Convergence in Ontario: An Examination of Variation in Hearst French Abstract This study attempts to incorporate new data of Ontario French into the previous French speakers are rare in Ontario, literature in order to increase our under- Canada; only 2.6 percent of the popula- standing of language contact in Ontario tion speaks French at home. However, as well as in other areas of the world. I several isolated French-speaking areas will begin this paper with an introduc- exist. While linguistic research in the tion to the necessary definitions and (§2) province increases, little focus has been a discussion of the issues scholars have given to northern Ontario. This study encountered in the study of language will examine variation in the French of contact and its effects. Following will be Hearst, Ontario, through the lens of pre- (§3) an introduction to the community vious Ontarian French studies in order of Hearst, Ontario, from which the study to apply new evidence to some previ- draws its data, and (§4) a description of Ryan Rosso ous sociolinguistic theories of language the specific instances of variation found McNair Scholar convergence. Analysis of transcripts in the French of Ontario and the meth- from a corpus of interviews with 34 local ods used to analyze them. Then (§5) I Francophones is expected to further the will consider the results and discuss the understanding of the relationship be- possible sociolinguistic factors that may tween French and English in Ontario. account for the variation in question. I will conclude this paper with (§6) a re- capitulation of the study and suggestions for future research. 1. Definitions Contact Linguistics, in its present form, is a complex field in which experts from differing academic backgrounds Janel Pettes Guikema, Ph.D. each have their own frameworks, Faculty Mentor viewpoints, and, in turn, terminolo- gies. The terms used to refer to different contact-induced phenomena are particu- larly troublesome, as different scholars employ the same term to mean different things. Take, for instance, the use of the term interference: While some scholars use this term to refer to any effect one language has on another, others use it to mean only the influences a speaker’s first language (L1) might have on his or her second language (L2). Transfer has also been used in the second sense by applied linguists in second language acquisition Dan Golembeski, Ph.D. to describe instances in which learners of Faculty Mentor a second language impose characteristics from their L1 on their target language (TL) or L2. Winford (2005) also men- tions the use of terms like interference via shift, borrowing, and substratum influence as confusing in a similar sense. Although scholars like van Coetsem (1988, 2000) and Winford (2005, 2007) 68 Considering Language Convergence in Ontario: An Examination of Variation in Hearst French have attempted to unite the diverse field This definition therefore encompasses of language change is arguably to per- under one set of terms, the literature still all contact-induced changes, since any form a diachronic study after the process presents a wide variety of classifications lexical or structural transmission from of change has taken place, since sus- for different phenomena. Therefore, it is a SL to a RL would make the two more pected changes are often only temporary necessary as a prerequisite to follow the similar. trends. Most linguists do not have the precedent and to make some note of the necessary time or resources to perform definitions that will be used in this paper. this kind of research and must work with The first main concept at the heart of 2. Contact-Induced Change: Its Place what they have. This means that many this paper is contact-induced language in Ontario and Problems Assessing It studies remain synchronic (considering a change. Certainly, there is contention as language situation at one point in time), to what kinds of changes can be consid- The contact between French and Eng- and must depend on data that point to, ered contact-induced, but my definition is lish in the Canadian province of Quebec but do not prove without doubt, certain broader than most and takes into consid- is well-known to the scholars of many changes that are taking place in a lan- eration some of these disputed results: different fields. It should also not be a guage. In this respect, linguists have been Contact-induced change is the phenom- surprise that some Francophones have creatively resourceful in finding methods enon by which the interaction of speakers moved into the neighboring province that produce convincing results. of distinct language patterns causes a of Ontario, where, as Statistics Canada One important indicator of ongoing qualitative or quantitative deviation in (2006) reports, 2.6 percent of the inhabit- language change lies in the existence a language from its structural or lexical ants claim to speak French at home. of variation. The increase of statistical norm. For the sake of this paper, this Ontarian French (OF) differs from Que- methods in sociolinguistics has been vital definition accepts the idea that language bec French (QF) due to its much more to the field, and the ability to find cor- variation can be considered an indica- intensive contact with English. French relation between certain factors and lin- tor of ongoing or incomplete language speakers have always been a minority in guistic variables has been put to good use change and that qualitative changes in the English-speaking majority province, in making the case for possible instances frequency of linguistic variables qualify but this population has been on the de- of ongoing change. If a certain variable as a valid change in the language’s char- cline in the past decades. presents itself in a higher frequency than acteristics. The language contact situation in would be considered normal in one form The distinction between qualitative Ontario is interesting, in part, due to of the language or that form’s genetic and quantitative deviation comes from French’s minority status. French was his- predecessor2, it must be postulated that the classifications by Mougeon and torically the dominant language of social something has provoked this difference Beniak (1991) and Rehner and Mougeon prestige, government activities, and trade between the two language forms. Support (1997) of overt and covert interfer- in the colonies of France and enjoyed a of this hypothesis can usually be found ence.1 As a rule, overt interference in a long period of time as the lingua franca through the aforementioned statistical language presents itself as a qualitative of Europe and other areas of the world. analysis and any existing correlations (usually syntactic or semantic) deviation This language, although it has lost some between factors and variables. Mougeon from that language’s norm, while covert influence in the last century, still re- and Beniak (1991), as well as others, interference appears as a quantitative de- mains one of the world’s most influential have used this variationist approach viation. This means that covert interfer- languages today, and it is difficult to find extensively in the study of OF, includ- ence can be seen statistically in variation, instances of language contact in recent ing their analysis of the simplification and need not incorporate a new innova- history where French has not been the and the subsequent leveling of 3rd-person tion into the language; all that is required socially or politically dominant lan- singular and plural (3 sg./pl.) verb forms is a lower frequency of an expression guage. The situation in Ontario therefore (pp. 91-109). Although this distinction or form in the recipient language (RL) provides the perfect opportunity to view between forms was found in children, that has no similar counterpart in the French from the perspective of a minor- they believe this example of leveling source language (SL) (which is usually ity language in contact with English and does not just originate in the younger accompanied by the subsequent rise of to assess the influences this contact has speakers “for two reasons: (1) the an equivalent expression that does have on the language itself. As will be seen in speakers who level the 3sg./pl. distinc- this counterpart). Finally, unlike Beniak, the rest of this section, this endeavor is tions have markedly dissimilar language Mougeon, and Valois (1984), I take con- far from simple. acquisition histories (L1 vs. L2), and (2) vergence to mean any process by which both infant first-language learners and two languages in contact become more 2.1 Language Change older second-language learners of French similar to each other, and not necessarily Certainly, the largest obstacle in the have been observed to level 3sg./pl. verb a process which differs from the classic study of language change is time. The distinctions” (p. 109). This phenomenon, definitions of interference or borrowing. only way to absolutely prove an instance while not induced by the contact situa- 1 Interference itself has been used to mean several different things in the literature, but I use it here in the widest sense to mean any intersystemic transmission of structure or lexicon between languages.