French Around the World

Catalog description

A linguistic survey of the Francophone world, with particular focus on French outside of France. The course begins with a historical look at the spread of French within and beyond Europe, then examines in turn the major French-speaking populations of Europe, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. While linguistic variation in each region will be considered, the main emphasis will be on sociolinguistic issues such as bilingualism and language contact, language politics and planning, linguistic insecurity, and language in education. Option for the major and minor in French.