Perception and production in French dialect leveling
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Nigel Armstrong
Abstract
In the first part of this chapter we provide a rigorous definition of what might be meant by the proposition that the supralocal or dominant variety of the French of France is ‘leveled’. We consider firstly some evidence that supports the notion of leveling as the diminution of regional features, looking secondly at the definition of dialect leveling that has to do with ‘social leveling’. Comparing UK English and French, we then discuss some perceptual evidence suggesting that supralocal French is now regionally but not socially leveled. In a subsequent section we consider behavioral data, characterizing the current French leveled phonological system in terms of what structural adjustments speakers have made and need to make in order to converge to this system.
Abstract
In the first part of this chapter we provide a rigorous definition of what might be meant by the proposition that the supralocal or dominant variety of the French of France is ‘leveled’. We consider firstly some evidence that supports the notion of leveling as the diminution of regional features, looking secondly at the definition of dialect leveling that has to do with ‘social leveling’. Comparing UK English and French, we then discuss some perceptual evidence suggesting that supralocal French is now regionally but not socially leveled. In a subsequent section we consider behavioral data, characterizing the current French leveled phonological system in terms of what structural adjustments speakers have made and need to make in order to converge to this system.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
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Section I. Phonological variation and leveling
- Introduction 3
- Perception and production in French dialect leveling 9
- The sociolinguistic relevance of regional categories 25
- Prosodic style-shifting as audience design 43
- The immigrant factor in phonological leveling 63
- A prototype-theoretic model of Southern French 77
- The law of position revisited 95
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Section II. Stylistic and syntactic variation
- Introduction 115
- Variation in first and second language French 121
- French preadolescents’ perceptions of stylistic variation 141
- Sociolinguistic variation in African French 159
- Register variation in the non-standard use of non-finite forms 177
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Section III. Lexical variation and semantic change
- Introduction 195
- Discourse markers and regional variation in French 201
- Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French 215
- From ‘luck’ to ‘wealth’ 231
- Index 253
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
-
Section I. Phonological variation and leveling
- Introduction 3
- Perception and production in French dialect leveling 9
- The sociolinguistic relevance of regional categories 25
- Prosodic style-shifting as audience design 43
- The immigrant factor in phonological leveling 63
- A prototype-theoretic model of Southern French 77
- The law of position revisited 95
-
Section II. Stylistic and syntactic variation
- Introduction 115
- Variation in first and second language French 121
- French preadolescents’ perceptions of stylistic variation 141
- Sociolinguistic variation in African French 159
- Register variation in the non-standard use of non-finite forms 177
-
Section III. Lexical variation and semantic change
- Introduction 195
- Discourse markers and regional variation in French 201
- Sociolinguistic factors and the pragmaticalization of bon in contemporary spoken French 215
- From ‘luck’ to ‘wealth’ 231
- Index 253
