Direct speech, subjectivity and speaker positioning in London English and Paris French

This paper examines functional similarities and differences in the use of pragmatic features – in particular quotatives and general extenders – on the right and left periphery of direct quotations. This comparative study, based on the analysis of a contemporary corpus of London English and Paris French (MLE – MPF) , finds that the form and frequency of these particles tend to vary not only with respect to social factors such as speakers’ age and gender, but also with respect to the different pragmatic functions they come to perform in different interactional settings. The contemporary data is analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively to show how different variants position the speaker in relation to: i) the content of the quote, ii) the interlocutors, iii) the presumed author of the quote. The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of pragmatic universals and variability in the use of direct speech

Grammatical change in Paris French: In-situ question words in embedded contexts.

This article will review the parameters of a grammatical variable within the putative variety ‘Multicultural Paris French’, i.e. its distribution and use within a group of young banlieue speakers. The structure in question stands out as it has rarely been found in previous corpora in France: indirect questions following verbs like savoir, where the question word is post-verb (je sais pas il a dit quoi). We discuss which groups use the new forms in Paris, referring briefly to some comparable changes in London. This structure appears to be an instance of ‘change from below’ (Labov, 2007), which seems to have emerged in the speech of young people of immigrant background. It might also, on the other hand, be a long-standing vernacular variant, which has re-emerged, with specific identity-related significance, in this particular group of speakers. Its exceptional character in the Paris context highlights a lack of evidence for the emergence of a more wide-ranging, distinct multiethnolect, as found in London and other European capitals

Le terme « relâchement » en sociolinguistique

L’article part du terme « relâchement de la prononciation », dont les sociolinguistes font fréquemment usage en supposant plus ou moins implicitement que les variétés non standard seraient ainsi linguistiquement caractérisables. C’est supposer, sur fond de volonté d’explicabilité des processus sociolinguistiques, que le non-standard se situe du côté du « naturel », en opposition à la « surveillance » que supposerait le standard. On est amené par la discussion de ces propositions à distinguer radicalement entre la syntaxe et la phonologie vis-à-vis des comportements sociolinguistiques.The article takes as its point of departure the term “relaxed pronunciation”. This is a term frequently used by sociolinguists with the more or less implicit assumption that non standard varieties may be characterised in this way. This implies that, assuming that the aim is that sociolinguistic processes should be explicable, non-standard forms might be located on the “natural” end of the spectrum whilst the standard forms are on the “monitored” end. The discussion of such assertions leads us to make a radical distinction, where sociolinguistic behaviour is concerned, between syntax and phonology

1977: Em Torno de Um Momento-chave do Surgimento da Sociolinguística na França

Resumo: Em 1977, um número da revista francesa de Linguística Langages, que tratava do marrismo, desempenhou, no contexto acadêmico francês, um papel determinante no surgimento de uma nova subdisciplina da Linguística, a Sociolinguística. Examinam-se aqui, de modo geral, as modalidades de surgimento de uma nova subdisciplina (fatores negativos e fatores positivos) e o papel que os grandes debates temáticos exercem neste domínios. Especificamente, situam-se alguns dos atores desse processo dos anos 1970, procura-se compreender a relação com as teorias anteriores, sobretudo a oposição aos estudos saussurianos), examina-se a proximidade/confrontação com a Análise do Discurso, outra subdisciplina nascida no mesmo momento e que compartilha grande parte dos atores. Busca-se, por outro lado, compreender questões veiculadas por essa nova disciplina, que se estabelece a partir de uma relação entre a reflexão de Linguística geral e intervenção social do cidadão-linguista

La variation de tous les français

Cet article présente une réflexion sur la notion de variation syntaxique, en s’appuyant essentiellement sur des études existantes concernant les français parlés hors de France (français périphériques). Il montre d’abord que les études effectuées jusqu’à présent (qui demeurent en nombre insuffisant) relèvent de quelques types, qui vont de la monographie locale à l’étude comparée d’un phénomène grammatical contrastés entre français localisé et français standard, mais qui comportent rarement des objectifs de comparaison de phénomènes de zone à zone. Il reste donc encore beaucoup à apprendre sur les phénomènes variationnels du français, si l’on considère cette langue selon toute l’amplitude de ses potentialités. L’objectif ultime, au-delà d’un inventaire de ces traits variationnels, est de comprendre les ressorts de la variation, aussi bien du point de vue interne que du point de vue du contact.This paper considers the phenomenon of syntactic variation and focuses on existing studies of varieties of French spoken outside France. It demonstrates that existing studies of variation in French (still relatively few in number) all belong to a few 'types', such as localized monographs or comparisons drawn between a local variety of French and standard French, and are seldom concerned with inter-regional comparison of grammatical features. There is therefore still a lot to be learned from the study of variation in French, a language which provides ample scope for the consideration of this topic. The paper provides examples of features which are subject to variation and aims to explore the motivation behind this phenomenon – both from an internal and external point of view