A Variationist Approach to Teaching French Phonetics

Rachel Weiher

GSR, French

BLC Fellows Forum

December 4, 2020 Rationale

• Exposure to and direct instruction in language variation critical to (van Compernolle & developing sociolinguistic competence Williams 2012)

• Efforts to diversify language curricula through representation of (Macedo 2019, diverse speaker communities, in order to foster inclusive Knisely 2020) language teaching • Diverse backgrounds and educational/professional goals among students, which may necessitate engagement with French- speaking communities beyond France (e.g. medicine, law, humanitarian work, etc.) Rationale (cont.)

• Long history of standard ideology in French (Doran 2007, Vigouroux 2017) • Negative attitudes toward speakers of non-standard varieties • (Calabrese & Rosier Linguistic prescriptivism (institutional + individual) 2015) • Linguistic insecurity amongst speakers of non- standard/minoritized varieties (Kuiper 2005) • Uneven (and sometimes disrespectful) representation of (Auger 2003, Bosworth 2016) nonstandard varieties in L2 pedagogy • Scarcity of research on applying sociolinguistic approaches to French pedagogy Course Goals

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Contribute to ongoing Prepare students to Empower students to efforts to de-center France understand and use challenge hegemonic in French language spoken French in a range notions of what it means teaching of French-speaking to ‘sound French’ and to communities explore their own French- speaking identities • Legitimize L2 varieties of French Method

• Draws on prior applications of a sociolinguistic approach to (Shin and Hudgens Henderson 2017) Spanish language pedagogy • Integration of sociolinguistic issues (particularly through the lens of variationism) to phonetics curriculum • Direct instruction socially meaningful variables • Discussions about language attitudes & ideologies • Diversification of materials to represent French-speaking communities beyond France Course Overview: Lessons

• Weekly readings on aspects of French phonetics • Dansereau (2006) – simple explanations in French of aspects of the (normative) sound system • Lodge et al. (1997) – more in-depth explanations in English, some discussion of variability • Synchronous & asynchronous lessons following short readings, including diversified examples of authentic speech + presentation of sociolinguistic concepts • Lessons loosely follow Shin and Hudgens Henderson’s (2017) three-pronged approach: • Authentic discourse, phonetic concepts, language attitudes/ideologies (p. 198) Course Overview: Assessed Work

• 4 Listening assignments in bCourses (“Quiz” function) • 4 Written responses/discussions in bCourses • 5 Comprehension quizzes • Testing for understanding of the phonetic phenomena + sociolinguistic concepts presented in a unit • Final project combines sociolinguistic issues with French phonetics • Choice of different digital formats for presenting work (a modified ‘Un-essay’)

(Mark Kissel, “The UnEssay,” May 2018) Sample Activities

Introduction to the IPA + Intro to Language Attitudes Sample Activity #1: Introduction to the IPA

• Listening + phonetic transcription exercise following introductory reading • Why do we need the IPA? Short exercise in describing pronunciation w/o the IPA to show its importance • Intro to IPA symbols using interactive website: ipachart.com • Explanation of how IPA charts are configured (vowel space + consonant chart) • Review of French articulatory vocabulary • Identifying French sounds Sample Activity #1 (cont.)

• Overview of typing IPA symbols (ipa.typeit.org/full) • Introduction to basic phonetic transcription • Starting with individual sound-symbol correspondences using sounds from French systems, then transcription of monosyllabic words • Articulatory descriptions of symbols shown in context of French words (e.g. ho[ʁ]aire) • Comparison of vowels in different varieties of French

(Detey et al. 2016) Sample Activity #1 – reflection questions

In breakout rooms: • After comparing the vowel systems of different varieties of French, how do you think their consonant systems might differ? Have you ever heard any sounds in French that you didn’t expect to hear? • Why do you think the IPA is important for us when describing sounds in French? Sample Activity #2: Language Attitudes

• Part of larger introduction to major sociolinguistic concepts • Introduces language attitudes from the perspective of Francophones in Southeastern Canada (Acadie) • Radio-Canada produced interview with 5 speakers of Acadian French varieties who describe reactions their speech has elicited L’acadjonne Le français Le chiac (St. Mary’s Bay, (Acadian Peninsula, (Moncton + Shediac, Novia Scotia) Northeast New Southeast New Brunswick; Moncton, Brunswick) NB) Sample Activity #2 (cont.)

• Post-video, students are asked to describe language attitudes relayed by the speakers, define and/or describe other sociolinguistic concepts, and critically evaluate the notion of “le bon français” (‘good French’) • Piloted asynchronously in French 146 (Intro French linguistics) this fall Sample Responses (Translated from French, emphases are mine)

On le bon français: What is it, according to the interviewed speakers? Does it exist at all?

• “Good French” doesn’t exist, but it is used by a lot of francophones to refer to standard French. It doesn’t exist because language is only a way of expressing something and making someone understand what you’re saying.

• The title ‘good French’ refers to a certain way of speaking that’s more well-known. For the young Acadians, ‘good French’ doesn’t exist.

• Even though I think beliefs about “good French” exist, it’s because it’s a sort of social construct. I say that because we hear standard French most of the time. Sample Responses (Translated from French, emphases are mine)

• On code-switching: Why do the speakers seem to suggest that speaking their varieties is a choice? Is it? What are the alternatives, if so? • I think they give this impression because they choose, sometimes, to not speak their specific varieties to avoid discrimination, to show their identity, etc. • I think they give the impression of choosing to speak their specific varieties because they know there are other ways of speaking and they can speak other ways if they want. • The alternative choices are to abandon their language in favor of the other more “acceptable” one. But, as Xavier said, language is really a part of one’s identity, a part that ‘dies’ if one doesn’t speak their variety. Conclusions

• Learning outcome: • Understanding of range of variability in spoken French and its social meanings, including how identity is expressed through speech • Ability to engage with French speakers from various francophone communities • Diversified examples in presentation of phonetics concepts • Speech samples from the banlieues*, the Maghreb, Eastern Canada, etc. • Applications: teaching diverse French sound systems, authentic speech samples from diverse Francophone communities

*suburbs on the periphery of major French cities, notably Paris and Marseille Conclusions

• Learning outcome: • Ability to construct French-speaking identity through language use, as sociolinguistic competence develops • Integration of sociolinguistic issues, including teaching about language variation and generating metalinguistic awareness • Application: introducing language attitudes surrounding non-standard varieties, drawing attention to linguistic discrimination and the language-identity link

Larger goal: future integration of these practices into various levels of language instruction Many thanks to… • The Berkeley Language Center, dir. Rick Kern & Mark Kaiser Acknowledgments • Fall ‘20 BLC Fellows: Kathryn DeWaele, Nathalie Khankan, Edwin Ko • Orlando Garcia & Victoria Williams References

• Auger, J. (2003). Linguistic Norm vs. Functional Competence: • Kuiper, L. (2005). Perception is reality: Parisian and Provençal Introducing Québec French to American Students. In Blyth, C. (Ed.), perceptions of regional varieties of French 1. Journal of The Sociolinguistics of Foreign Language Classrooms: Contributions of Sociolinguistics , 9(1), 28-52. the Native, the Near-Native, and the Non-Native Speaker , 57–78. Boston: Heinle Thomson. • Lodge, R. A., Armstrong, N., Ellis, Y., & Shelton, J. (1997). Exploring the French language. John Wiley & Sons. • Bosworth, Y. (2016). Québécois French in U.S. Academia: Overcoming Challenges and Creating Opportunities. Quebec Studies , • Macedo, D. (Ed.). (2019). Decolonizing foreign language education: Supplemental Issue, 97–119. The misteaching of English and other colonial languages. Routledge. • Dansereau, D. (2016). Savoir dire. Boston: Cengage Learning • Milroy, J. (2006). The Ideology of the Standard Language. In Llamas, C., Mullany, L., & Stockwell, P. (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to • Detey, S., Durand, J., Laks, B., & Lyche, C. (Eds.). (2016). Varieties of Sociolinguistics. Routledge. spoken French. Oxford University Press. • Shin, N. L., & Hudgens Henderson, M. (2017). A sociolinguistic • Doran, M. (2007). Alternative French, alternative identities: Situating approach to teaching Spanish grammatical structures. Foreign language in la banlieue. Contemporary French and Francophone Language Annals, 50(1), 195-213. Studies, 11(4), 497-508. • Van Compernolle, R. A., & Williams, L. (2012). Teaching, learning, and • Kissel, M. (2018, May 7). The UnEssay [Web log post]. Retrieved developing L2 French sociolinguistic competence: A sociocultural November 22, 2020, from https://marckissel.netlify.app/post/on-the- perspective. Applied linguistics, 33(2), 184-205. unessay/ • Vigouroux, C. B. (2017). The discursive pathway of two centuries of • Knisely, K. (2020). Un-boxing gender: Toward trans-affirming L2 raciolinguistic stereotyping: Africans as incapable of speaking French. pedagogies. The Berkeley Language Center. The University of Language in Society, 46(1), 5. California-Berkeley. Berkeley, CA. (Online).