Books by Leigh Oakes
Language politics in the new global era presents policymakers with significant ethical challenges... more Language politics in the new global era presents policymakers with significant ethical challenges. How should the reality of English as a global language influence the normative considerations underpinning national language policies? What moral arguments justify the imposition of national languages in an era of increased immigration and ethnolinguistic diversity? What role is there for non-dominant varieties in a globalised world? Building on the emerging notion of 'normative language policy', this book proposes an integrated framework for the study of such questions, combining recent normative work on language in political theory and philosophy with empirically-derived insight from the fields of sociolinguistics and applied linguistics. The case of Quebec forms the backdrop of the study, providing a particularly illuminating setting for investigating the common moral challenges that face contemporary polities seeking to maintain distinct linguistic identities, in an irreducibly diverse world increasingly dominated by English as a global lingua franca.
La mondialisation s’accompagne de conditions politiques, économiques et sociales qui demandent de... more La mondialisation s’accompagne de conditions politiques, économiques et sociales qui demandent de nouvelles conceptualisations de l’appartenance dans le contexte de communautés culturellement diversifiées. Dans Langue, citoyenneté et identité au Québec, la société québécoise est présentée comme un exemple particulièrement intéressant de ce point de vue. Les auteurs examinent comment le Québec cherche, par la promotion d’une citoyenneté commune avec le français comme élément de base, à favoriser le développement d’un sentiment d’appartenance parmi les minorités qu’il abrite. En tant que nation sans État souverain, le Québec doit répondre à deux impératifs distincts : le besoin d’affirmer une identité francophone vigoureuse au sein de l’espace anglophone de l’Amérique du Nord, et l’obligation civique d’accommoder une gamme toujours plus diverse de groupes d’immigrants, ainsi que les demandes de reconnaissance des communautés anglophone et autochtone. Tandis que le Québec doit se définir dans le contexte de la mondialisation tout en composant avec la diversité à l’intérieur de ses propres frontières, voici une étude détaillée qui propose un regard sociolinguistique sur la question de l’identité québécoise.
Globalization is calling for new conceptualizations of belonging within culturally diverse commun... more Globalization is calling for new conceptualizations of belonging within culturally diverse communities. This book takes Quebec as a case study and examines how it fosters a sense of belonging through a common citizenship with French as the key element. As a nation without a state, Quebec is driven by two distinct imperatives: the need to affirm a robust Francophone identity within Anglophone North America, and the civic obligation to accommodate an increasingly diverse range of migrant groups, as well as demands for recognition by Aboriginal and Anglophone minorities.
This book re-examines the relationship between language and national identity. Unlike many previo... more This book re-examines the relationship between language and national identity. Unlike many previous studies, it employs a comparative approach: France and Sweden have been chosen as case studies both for their similarities (e.g. both are member states of the European Union) as well as their important differences (e.g. France subscribes in principle to a civic model of national identity, whereas the basis of Swedish identity is undeniably ethnic). It is precisely differences such as these which allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the ethnolinguistic implications of some of the major challenges currently facing France, Sweden and other European countries: regionalism, immigration, European integration and globalization.The present volume benefits from the use of a multidisciplinary approach, and differs from others on the market because of the variety of methods of inquiry used. A series of societal analyses is complemented by an empirical component, bringing a more grounded understanding to the issue of language and national identity.
Articles/chapters by Leigh Oakes
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2022
While the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) has been extensively investigated among learners of... more While the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) has been extensively investigated among learners of English, this study explores through a crosslinguistic lens its applicability to learners of a language other than English (LOTE), in this case French. Quantitative survey analysis among 522 university learners of French and English in two European countries (Sweden and Poland) suggests that while the framework is relevant in the case of learners of French, other motivation constructs are also at play. The L2MSS supposedly subsumes various traditional motivational constructs (e.g. integrative orientation, instrumental orientation), yet there is evidence to suggest that these were perceived as distinct constructs in their own right, especially by the learners of French. Even a strong form of integrative orientation was found to play an active role among the learners of French who had spent time in a francophone country and had learnt the language for longer. As such, the article argues for a more comprehensive approach to second language (L2) motivation theory that is also sensitive to factors at play in the specific case of LOTEs.
Language Problems and Language Planning, 2021
With the emergence of the notion of Standard Quebec French, debates about linguistic usage in Que... more With the emergence of the notion of Standard Quebec French, debates about linguistic usage in Quebec are today largely shaped by two competing normative models: an exonorm defined for all intents and purposes in France and an endonorm reflecting socially acceptable usage as determined by Quebecers themselves. While language attitude research has provided some indication of the normative preferences of ordinary Quebecers, the picture remains largely ambiguous. This article seeks to provide some clarity through a reconceptualisation of language attitudes intended to specifically elicit value judgments on norm setting and enforcement. Building on research in political philosophy and theory, it further develops the notion of ‘pluricentric linguistic justice’, proposed as a tool for assessing questions of authority and legitimacy concerning French in Quebec. It then presents the results of an empirical exploration of this notion focused on the attitudes of a sample of francophone Queb...
Sociolinguistica, 2021
Drawing on the example of the French-speaking world, this article makes the case for the valuable... more Drawing on the example of the French-speaking world, this article makes the case for the valuable contribution of a systematic ethics-based approach to understanding linguistic pluricentricity. Following a critical review of three key definitional dimensions of the concept - political, linguistic and representational/attitudinal - it argues for the inclusion of a fourth ethical dimension to assess whether there are moral arguments which might also favour the recognition of distinct national standards. It builds on the recent linguistic justice literature in the fields of political theory and political philosophy to propose the notion of “pluricentric linguistic justice” as a framework for evaluating the ethics of local norm-setting and enforcement in pluricentric contexts. To demonstrate how pluricentric linguistic justice might be assessed, it examines a series of valued-based arguments discussed in the linguistic justice literature relating to the instrumental and identity functions of language, considering how they might apply to specific contexts in the French-speaking world. Besides contributing to existing theory, the notion of pluricentric linguistic justice has the potential to help advance social equality, by drawing attention to some of the social and political injustices associated with diatopic variation in spatially diffused languages more generally.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2021
This study responds to calls for more research on motivations for learning languages other than E... more This study responds to calls for more research on motivations for learning languages other than English (LOTEs) in the new era dominated by global English. In particular, it focuses on the role of ...
Language Policy, 2017
Building on the emerging notion of ‘normative language policy’, this article seeks to contribute ... more Building on the emerging notion of ‘normative language policy’, this article seeks to contribute to the further development of an integrated framework for researching the ethics of language policy and planning. Using the case of minority language rights in France as an example, it demonstrates the benefit of combining context-sensitive or empirical approaches as traditionally used in language policy and planning research with a nuanced normative ethical analysis as employed in political philosophy and political theory. After outlining the foundational work on minority rights that has emerged within contemporary liberal theory in particular, it considers some limitations of this work in the French context specifically. It then examines ways that recent theoretical advances in liberal theory can nonetheless shed new light on the minority languages debate in France. It concludes with a critical overview of a new model for the management of the country’s regional languages recently proposed within republican theory, as a further example of the benefits of a normative language policy approach.
« Droits linguistiques » et « droits à la langue ». Identification d’un objet d‘étude et construction d’une approche, 2016
System, 2013
Abstract The study on which this article is based investigated reasons for learning a foreign lan... more Abstract The study on which this article is based investigated reasons for learning a foreign language at university in a predominantly English-speaking environment (the UK). It examined the relative importance of motivational variables as theorised in the field of second language (L2) motivation, and the effect of first language (L1) and linguistic background (English only versus other), country of birth (the UK versus other), choice of target language (French versus Spanish) and centre of study (specialist language department versus language centre). Despite the ‘monoglot culture’ that prevails in many English-speaking countries, having an English-only profile and especially being born in the UK proved to be important motivating factors in the participants' decision to learn a foreign language. Few significant differences were found between learners of French and Spanish, which were both deemed to have continued instrumental value despite the dominance of English in the world today. The notion of ideal L2 self proved potentially more useful than traditional motivational constructs. However, it is argued that the concept would benefit from further research in particular amongst non-specialist language learners, who appear to have been largely neglected by L2 motivation theory to date, despite possibly representing the future of foreign language learning.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2013
The increased status that Creole has enjoyed in Reunion over the last decade, coupled with more p... more The increased status that Creole has enjoyed in Reunion over the last decade, coupled with more positive attitudes towards the language, has led to suggestions that diglossia may be giving way to a more balanced French-Creole bilingualism. Building on recent research indicating that the new-found status may be largely symbolic, the present article makes use of a quantitative and qualitative survey of language attitudes amongst a group of university students in Reunion to demonstrate that the new appreciation resides predominantly in the ability of Creole to act as an overt marker of a distinct Reunionese identity that increasingly seeks to assert itself today. It argues that this function masks a paradoxical unwillingness to see Creole as an extended means of communication, which, together with a decline in transmission rates, may not signal a more favourable future for the language so much as the next stage of a slow but steady process of language shift to French.
Uniformity and Diversity in Language Policy: Global Perspectives, 2011
Uniformity and Diversity in Language Policy: Global Perspectives, 2011
French Politics, 2011
France's regional languages have long suffered as a result of the French republican model, which ... more France's regional languages have long suffered as a result of the French republican model, which denies the existence of minorities and hence the possibility of granting minority rights. It is sometimes argued by language rights specialists, however, that these should not be seen as special collective rights so much as linguistic aspects of existing fundamental individual rights. The present article examines France's potential to exploit instead this latter conception of language rights, building on the new constitutional status granted to the country's regional languages in 2008 to form a fresh approach to minority languages. Not only could this strengthen French republicanism, but could also serve as a useful model for language rights in other contexts that favour individual rights over groups rights.
Multilingua - Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, 2010
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of fears concerning the status of English in Quebec.... more In recent years, there has been a resurgence of fears concerning the status of English in Quebec. Unlike in the past, many now claim that it is francophones themselves who risk undermining the achievements of 30 years of successful status planning. The finger is pointed in particular at young francophones, accused of adopting an unfettered bilingualism and overly positive attitudes towards the global lingua franca. In an attempt to explore the veracity of the accusations, the present study makes use of a questionnaire distributed amongst 463 francophone university students in Quebec. Far from revealing an uncritical stance towards English, the results expose the diversity and complexity of the relationships maintained with the language, which serve to distinguish young francophones today from previous generations.
Studies in French Applied Linguistics, 2008
As a French-speaking island in a predominantly English-speaking North America, Québec is often co... more As a French-speaking island in a predominantly English-speaking North America, Québec is often considered as a model in questions of language policy and planning. Following a discussion of the theoretical processes involved, this chapter examines the particular language-planning measures for which Québec has become well-known and which aim to improve the status of French there (status planning), assure its adoption as a common public language by all Quebecers (acquisition planning), as well as enrich the language and attend to its quality (corpus planning). In all these areas, Québec’s language policy and planning is today shaped by the new challenges presented by immigration and globalisation, demonstrating a creativity and an ability to adapt to change that are often lacking in the language policy and planning of other French-speaking contexts.
Language Issues in Canada: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 2007
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Books by Leigh Oakes
Articles/chapters by Leigh Oakes