Attitudes towards the French language: An analysis of the metalanguage used in twentieth-century French language columns

Walsh, Olivia

Abstract

Chroniques de langage, or language columns, are articles discussing questions related to language which are produced by a single author and published regularly in the periodical press (Remysen 2005: 270–1). While the content of the columns can vary, all deal with questions of language, most frequently focusing on advising readers on the supposedly correct and incorrect use of the French language. Using a sample of language columns from newspapers published in France during the twentieth century, this chapter examines the metalanguage used to describe and make judgements about particular language usages to determine, first, the attitudes towards the French language that are (re-)produced in these columns during the twentieth century and, second, whether these attitudes change over time. The role played by the standard language ideology in forming these judgements is then considered.

Citation

Walsh, O. (2024). Attitudes towards the French language: An analysis of the metalanguage used in twentieth-century French language columns. In J. Carruthers, M. McLaughlin, & O. Walsh (Eds.), Historical and Sociolinguistic Approaches to French (254-275). Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192894366.003.0013

• Online Publication Date: Jun 20, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 20, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jan 22, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 21, 2026
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Pages: 254-275
• Book Title: Historical and Sociolinguistic Approaches to French
• Chapter Number: 13
• ISBN: 9780192894366
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780192894366.003.0013
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/30108986
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/book/57359/chapter-abstract/464669159?redirectedFrom=fulltext
• Related Public URLs: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/historical-and-sociolinguistic-approaches-to-french-9780192894366?cc=gb&lang=en
• Contract Date: May 3, 2023