How Canada's multicultural history has influenced the way we speak French (Ottawa, May 13, 2005) - The Honourable Mauril Bélanger, deputy leader of the government in the House of Commons and minister responsible for official languages, on behalf of the Honourable David L. Emerson, minister of industry and minister responsible for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), today announced $2.5 million in research funding to explore the diversity and unique history of Canadian French. Dr. France Martineau, a French professor at the University of Ottawa, and an international team of researchers will use funding from SSHRC to study differences in French across the country and how each group's individual history has influenced the language they speak. "This research will help us to better understand the history and diversity of the French language and its speakers," said Minister Bélanger. "I congratulate Professor Martineau and her research team for embarking on this very important and timely research, which comes as we celebrate the 400th anniversary of French settlement in Canada." The researchers will also examine how contact between French and other languages-particularly English and First Nations languages during the early years of French settlement in Canada-changed the way people speak. Using traditional sources such as literary and grammar texts, as well as legal records, diaries and travel logs, they hope to chart the evolution of the French language in Canada and compare this to the language's development in France. "This research team is asking important questions about how societies and groups manage the evolution of their languages and their linguistic identity," said Marc Renaud, president of SSHRC. "By comparing the early development of French in Canada to its development in France, the team will help us determine what exactly is behind the unique character of the French language spoken by Canadians." Rivalries and tensions between different forms of French-Parisian versus Québécois, or Acadian versus Franco-Manitoban are at the heart of the study. Martineau's team will explore how French speakers learned to master several grammatical systems simultaneously, and became, in some instances, bilingual or multilingual speakers of French. "We know that learning a language is a lifelong process-individuals refine and perfect their speech throughout their lives," said Dr. Martineau. "We want to learn more about what causes the competition between grammatical systems and how individuals navigate this instability until one form eventually dominates and becomes the standard." Researchers from seven other Canadian universities are taking part in the study, as well as researchers at universities in Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland and the United States. More than half of the funds will support the research training of graduate students. -30- For additional information on this release and other SSHRC research projects, please contact: Doré Dunne Media relations officer Telephone: (613) 992-7302 E-mail: dore.dunne@sshrc.ca
