University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts 2017 French, English or Kanak languages? Can Traditional Languages and Cultures be Sustained in New Caledonia? Anu Bissoonauth-Bedford University of Wollongong,
[email protected] Nina Parish University of Bath,
[email protected] Publication Details Bissoonauth, A. & Parish, N. (2017). French, English or Kanak languages? Can Traditional Languages and Cultures be Sustained in New Caledonia?. Portal: journal of multidisciplinary international studies, 14 (2), 39-53. Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library:
[email protected] French, English or Kanak languages? Can Traditional Languages and Cultures be Sustained in New Caledonia? Abstract New Caledonia has an unusual linguistic dynamic in comparison to other French overseas territories. While New Caledonia was established as a penal colony in 1853, the other French islands were settled as plantation colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. In these areas, French Creole is usually the lingua franca and has lower status than French. In New Caledonia, although French has official status and dominates in state institutions, it is the native language of only half of the population. There are 28 indigenous languages and a French Creole, Tayo, spoken mostly in the rural areas. The 2014 ec nsus population revealed a multicultural New Caledonian population, it did not however record the rate of multilingualism in speakers. The present study conducted in two stages addresses a gap in the research by focussing on patterns of language use and social attitudes of New Caledonians towards their own multilingualism.