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‘Moving’ through the past: Thirty years of avoir été in Ontario French

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2014

OLIVIA N. SAMMONS ,
TERRY NADASDI  and
RAYMOND MOUGEON
OLIVIA N. SAMMONS*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta – Linguistics Edmonton, AlbertaCanada
TERRY NADASDI
Affiliation:
University of Alberta – Linguistics Edmonton, AlbertaCanada
RAYMOND MOUGEON
Affiliation:
York University, Glendon College – French Studies Toronto, OntarioCanada
*
Olivia N. Sammons Department of Linguistics 4-32 Assiniboia Hall, University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta, Canada e-mail: sammons@ualberta.ca
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Abstract

This article examines a case of real-time language change in the spoken French of adolescents residing in four localities in Ontario, Canada. The focus of the study is the alternation between verb forms meaning ‘went/have gone’ over a three-decade timespan (1978–2005), and involves three main variants: avoir été, être allé and avoir allé. This study investigates the influence of both social and linguistic factors on variant choice, showing evidence for both devernacularization and regularization as a result of social change.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of French Language Studies , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , November 2015 , pp. 397 - 422
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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