EXPLORATION LAMJUAGE IDENTITY Library and Bibliotheque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de !'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-33441-6 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-33441-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a Ia Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par !'Internet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve Ia propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni Ia these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a Ia loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur Ia protection de Ia vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ant ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans Ia pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada IN OTHER WORDS: AN EXPLORATION OF FRENCH NEWFOUNDLAND LANGUAGE IDENTITY IN CAPE ST. GEORGE by ©Erin Noel A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology and Archaeology Memorial University of Newfoundland September 2007 St.John's Newfoundland and Labrador Abstract In the 20th century, a process of language shift took place among French Newfoundlanders living in Cape St. George, Newfoundland. This involved a consolidation of English and French being inscribed with diglossic values -with English as the high variety and French the low. A French revitalization movement was formed at the Cape in the early 1970s with the goal of reversing the effects of language shift. It took the form of resistance of reversal, adopting the oppositional logic of diglossia but inverting the relative power of each language. Language activists with the French movement have been guided by the oppositional one language/ one people ideology, an ideology which equates group identity with a single language and tends to favour linguistic purism. The influence of this language ideology is most clear in the acquisition and evolution of French education at the Cape, a process which, ironically, introduced a second language hierarchy into the community. Language shift and language revitalization have transformed Cape St. George into a linguistically heterogeneous speech community, where varieties of English and French are spoken with varying degrees of competence and willingness by residents there. I argue that unmarked codeswitching between French and English, regardless of a person's French language ability is the quintessential language pattern of French Newfoundlanders. Criticisms of the French movement are generally criticisms of the exclusionary practices and policies engendered by the oppositional one language/ one people 11 ideology. People object to these polices and practices because they do not match their experience of their community or their more plurilingual definition of French Newfoundland identity. This popular rejection of the French movement may be considered a form of radical resistance. 111 Acknowledgements This thesis would not exist had it not been for the support of many people. Financial assistance for my fieldwork came from Dr. Wayne Fife's SSHRC Standard Research Grant. My graduate program was funded in large part by the School of Graduate Studies F. ~A-- Aldrich Fellowship and another School of Graduate Studies Fellowship. Many thanks to my supervisors Dr. Sharon Roseman and Dr. Wayne Fife for their intellectual rigour, candid counsel, careful editing, and willingness to see this through with me. Thanks also to the professors and graduate students who have passed through the Anthropology Department during my time there. Together, you created an environment where ideas could grow and debate flourish. I am certain that I am the richer for it. This has been a long journey. I am deeply indebted to my family for their emotional support throughout this process, especially my mother Maureen, my father Ian, my sister Melanie, my grandmother Rita (Nanny) Noel, my stepfather Roy Lewis, and my cousins Carolyn Bruss, Sheldon Pollett, Madeleine Pollett, and Sophie Pollett. Your love has carried me through. Thanks also to my friends, especially Margaret (Yetman) Bowes, Valerie Grant, Deirdre Cooper, Natalie Bridger, Tori Allen, and Reid Robins for their love and support throughout this process. You have kept me sane. Deep thanks also to Curtis IV ~A.ndrews and the members of Dzolali Drum and Dance Ensemble for giving me a powerful physical, creative, musical, and social diversion from the often isolating writing process. Finally, and most importantly, profound thanks to the residents of Cape St. George who opened their doors and shared their lives with me during the course of my fieldwork. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother Madeleine Barter (nee Benoit) and to her sister Helena Churchill, who inadvertently planted the seed for this project over a cup of tea one afternoon. v Table of Contents j\bstract................................................................................... 11 ~\cknowledgements................................................................. .... tv Table of Contents....................................................................... v1 List of ~\bbreviations................................................................... v111 List of ~\ppendices...... tx Chapter One- Introduction........................................................... 1 1.1 - Cape St. George/ Cap-Saint-GeorgeJ..................................... 4 1.2- Theoretical Approach................................................... 15 1.3 - ~1ethodology............... 35 1.3.1 -Participant ObsetYation...................................... 35 1.3.2- Photographic Documentation.............................. 39 1.3.3- Unstructured and Semi-Structured Interviews............. 40 1.3.4- -'\ Methodological Post-Script............................... 43 1.4- A Note About the Researcher.......................................... 43 1.5- Thesis Outline............................................................ 46 Chapter Two--'\ History of Language Shift in Cape St. George.................. 49 2.1 -Settlement................................................................ SO 2.2- Language Shift........................................................... 55 2.2.1 - The Emergence of English, The Marginalization of French......................................................... 55 2.2.2- Rural Decline and Out-Migration: Language Shift by Absence........................................................ 63 2.3- Conclusion............................................................... 73 Vl Chapter Three- French Newfoundland Language Activism: The Impact of the Oppositional One Language/One People Ideology............................ 75 3.1 - ~'\. Brief History of the French Language Movement in Cape St. George.................................................................... 75 3.2- French Education: Resistance of Reversal............................ 84 3.2.1- French Immersion............................................ 85 3.2.2- New Language: The "'\.rgument for French First Language Education.......................................... 90 3.2.3 - Contemporary French Education at the Cape......... 97 3.3-1\ New Linguistic Code: Standard French............................ 100 3.4- Conclusion............................................................... 107 Chapter Four- The Legacies of Language Shift and Language Revitalization: Language Use Patterns at the Cape................................................... 110 4.1- Language Varieties Spoken at the Cape............................... 112 4.2- Codeswitching in Cape St. George.................................... 118 4.2.1- Code Choice: Space and Relationship...................... 121 4.2.2- Unmarked Conversational Codeswitching at the Cape... 132 4.3- Metadiscourse........................................................ .... 136 4.3.1 -The Lingering Diglossic Impact............................. 136 4.3.2- French Language Revitalization and Revaluation......... 140 4.4- Conclusion............................................................... 152 Chapter Five - Everyday Language Activism and An Alternative Model of French Newfoundland Identity....................................................... 155 5.1- Defending Newfoundland French....................................