Sociolinguistic variation in African French
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Anne Moseng Knutsen
Abstract
While the extra-territorial varieties of English are well documented, extra-territorial varieties of French are less studied. This chapter deals with the relative clause in Ivorian French, one of the most restructured varieties of French in Africa. In the multilingual country of Ivory Coast, the acquisition of French by speakers with no or poor formal education has led to a significant number of structural changes. After a brief sociolinguistic and linguistic description of French in the Ivory Coast, the article gives an account of the types of relatives observed in Ivorian French. The chapter shows that a reinterpretation of the syntactic patterns of (oral) French is taking place, concerning mainly the relative pronoun – antecedent relationship and the possibility of omissions of the relative pronoun in Ivorian French. In the light of such non-standard relatives, the pertinence of a morphosyntactic definition of subordination and relativization is discussed. Finally, possible inter-, intra- and extrasystemic factors motivating the observed non-standard relatives are examined.
Abstract
While the extra-territorial varieties of English are well documented, extra-territorial varieties of French are less studied. This chapter deals with the relative clause in Ivorian French, one of the most restructured varieties of French in Africa. In the multilingual country of Ivory Coast, the acquisition of French by speakers with no or poor formal education has led to a significant number of structural changes. After a brief sociolinguistic and linguistic description of French in the Ivory Coast, the article gives an account of the types of relatives observed in Ivorian French. The chapter shows that a reinterpretation of the syntactic patterns of (oral) French is taking place, concerning mainly the relative pronoun – antecedent relationship and the possibility of omissions of the relative pronoun in Ivorian French. In the light of such non-standard relatives, the pertinence of a morphosyntactic definition of subordination and relativization is discussed. Finally, possible inter-, intra- and extrasystemic factors motivating the observed non-standard relatives are examined.
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
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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
