Sociolinguistic Evidence of a Possible Case of Syntactic Convergence in Ontarian French
Year:
1984
Volume and number:
, 6
Collection:
, 7
Journal:
, Journal of the Atlantic Provinces Linguistic Association/Revue de l'Association de Linguistique des Provinces Atlantiques
Pages :
, 73-88
Abstract
Syntactic convergence is defined as gradual elimination of specific forms in a lang, as the result of contact with another language in which those forms are not present. This is distinguished from interference, which actually involves introduction of new forms into a language as the result of contact. A possible case of convergence in Ontario French is examined on the basis of data collected from 117 Franco-Ontarian adolescents. The interchangeable use of chez + personal pronoun & a la maison to express the idea of location at, or direction to a person's home was examined. It was found that a la maison was used significantly more frequently in regions where French speakers were in the minority (ie, high degree of English contact). A la maison bears a strong lexical & syntactic resemblance to the English constructions (at)home & at/to X's house. The data are found to provide empirical evidence in favor of the convergence hypothesis. 1 Table, 21 References. B. Annesser Murray
Theme :
FrancophonesOntarioSociolinguistic
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