Language planning and policy in Quebec

This book on language planning and policy (LPP) in the Canadian province of Quebec begins with a review of the literature on LPP both generally and in the Quebec context. It then draws on a mix of methods to illustrate language use on the ground and the way in which LPP has shaped this use. Sociolinguistic questionnaires gather information about a sample’s language repertoires and attitudes. A documentation of the linguistic landscape (LL) provides information about visible language in public space, and branches into the soundscape on public transport. An ethnographic survey of customer – barista interactions in cafés reveals language choice and code-switching in service encounters. A psycholinguistic study on the reading of signs from the LL informs about the ways in which laypersons notice languages in the LL. These findings are then analysed through a comparative prism from Welsh and Singaporean perspectives, two polities where English has also received extensive attention from language planners. The book concludes with reflexions on the study of LPP in contemporary settings.

Autor:inneninformation:
PD Dr. Jakob Leimgruber lehrt Englische Sprachwissenschaft an der Universität Basel.