Have you ever wondered whether you speak the right kind of French? Have you ever felt ashamed of the way you speak, or of the way people in your community speak? If so, this book will help you better understand the processes that create these language behaviours.
Linguistic insecurity, which is common in the French-speaking world, stems from how French has developed. That is, the idea of a single standard and a unitary, uniform vision of French has long persisted and forms the root of social exclusion.
This book describes the phenomenon of linguistic insecurity, its history, manifestations and repercussions. It focuses specifically on language insecurity in the French-speaking world, drawing on examples from the French-speaking community in Canada.
Annette Boudreau, professor emeritus at the Université de Moncton, has been researching the phenomenon of language insecurity, its construction, manifestation and consequences for 30 years. She is the author of the monograph À l'ombre de la langue légitime : l'Acadie dans la francophonie (Classiques Garnier 2016), which won the Prix de la Renaissance française awarded by the Académie des Sciences d'outre-mer. Her most recent book, Dire le silence : insécurité linguistique en Acadie 1867-1970, was published by Éditions Prise de parole, in December 2021. She is the recipient of the 2023 Acfas Gilles-Paquet award.