ABSTRACT

The French-Speaking World is an accessible textbook that offers students the opportunity to explore for themselves a wide range of sociolinguistic issues relating to the French language and its role in the world.

This new edition has been fully revised to reflect the many political and social changes of the last 15 years, including the impact of technology on language change. It continues to combine text with practical exercises and discussion questions to stimulate readers to think for themselves and to tackle specific problems.

Key features of this book:

  • Informative and comprehensive: covers a wide range of current issues
  • Practical: contains a variety of graded exercises and tasks plus an index of terms
  • Topical and contemporary: deals with current situations and provides up-to-date illustrative material
  • Thought-provoking: encourages students to reflect and research for themselves

The French-Speaking World is the ideal textbook for undergraduate students who have a sound practical knowledge of French but who have little or no knowledge of linguistics or sociolinguistics.

chapter |2 pages

Introduction

part 1|46 pages

The position of French in the world

chapter 1|13 pages

Le Monde francophone

chapter 2|14 pages

French as a first language

Europe and North America

chapter 3|17 pages

French as a second language

The colonial heritage

part 2|72 pages

Exploring linguistic variation

chapter 4|13 pages

Languages, dialects and patois

chapter 5|13 pages

Local varieties of French in France

chapter 6|16 pages

Local varieties of French outside France

chapter 7|15 pages

French and creoles

chapter 8|13 pages

Immigration and the French language

part 3|36 pages

Conservation and change

chapter 10|14 pages

French in the global age