This paper presents a sociolinguistic study conducted among 274 parents of different mother tongues in Quebec, to investigate the patterns and predictors of the intergenerational transmission of French. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for provincial language planning to ensure the maintenance of French in Quebec.
In Quebec, French faces the challenge of English as the global lingua franca and as the language of upward mobility in the rest of Canada and North America at large. Since the 1950s, there has been a steady decline in the percentage of Quebecers using French most frequently at home (and consequently, Quebecers growing up with French as their mother tongue). Language practices in the home – and especially patterns of intergenerational language transmission – play a crucial role in language maintenance. Yet, no planning efforts have been undertaken specifically to promote the intergenerational transmission of French in Quebec. This paper presents the first known larger sociolinguistic study to investigate the patterns and predictors of intergenerational language transmission in Quebec. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data regarding language practices among 274 participants of different mother tongues – namely French, French and English, English, and other(s) – throughout the province. They show that French-English bilingual parents and those who have mother tongues other than French or English display a particularly strong tendency to omit French when speaking to their children – but, by contrast, they present high rates of transmitting English. Analyses by means of multiple regressions reveal that participants’ proficiency in French and their attitudes towards the language on the solidarity dimension are significant predictors of its intergenerational transmission. These findings indicate a necessity to rethink language planning in Quebec. Specifically, a shift might be needed from focusing on status planning measures that increase the utilitarian value of French, to considering more effective acquisition planning measures that increase Quebecers’ proficiency in the language as well as prestige planning measures that engender more positive attitudes towards it. Such measures would promote the intergenerational transmission of French, and thus its use in the home, thereby contributing to its long-term maintenance.
