L’importance de préserver la diversité des accents pour contrer l’insécurité linguistique en Ontario français

Abstract

Canada is an enriched country mainly because of multiculturalism and immigration, but protecting and valorizing the French language remains a major issue. Specifically, the members of the French-speaking minority communities in Canada (outside of Quebec) are living complex and varied lives. Furthermore, some are fighting for survival to avoid assimilation, and others are living in harmony with the English majority, all the while keeping a French identity. In this article I will have an analytic look on the importance of French accent pluralism in a linguistic minority situation in Canada. To do this, from Statistics Canada’s latest census, I will provide an overview of the Franco-Ontarians from the province of Ontario and also of French-speaking immigration. I will then study a capsule from the Franco-Ontarian group Improtéine as well as epilinguistic situations to observe the notion of linguistic insecurity, including the role of accents. The typology from the French linguist Louis-Jean Calvet will be used to analyze the epilinguistic situations, to know identity, formal, and statutory insecurity. In conclusion, I will present lines of thoughts, inspired by the Franco-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf, that will be relevant to counter linguistic insecurity.