Language attitudes, vitality awareness, and identity in France: The case of Picard/Ch'ti in the Hauts-de-France

Coeyman, L. (2022) Language attitudes, vitality awareness, and identity in France: The case of Picard/Ch'ti in the Hauts-de-France. Language Documentation and Description, 22(1), pp. 1-12. (doi: 10.25894/ldd.322)

Abstract

Most regional languages in France are now endangered, as speaker numbers have been declining for decades. One such language is Picard (also called Ch’ti), a minority language spoken in the Hauts-de-France region. This research investigates the social perception of Picard, its place in the modern world, and its importance to the identity of those living in the Picardophone area. The study also suggests that making questionnaire respondents aware of a language’s endangered status has an impact on the language attitudes respondents express. Two versions of the same online questionnaire were used, only one of which included a short introduction presenting Picard as a “severely endangered language”. These questionnaires were answered by 586 people living in the Hauts-de-France. The results differ by age and by whether the respondent was informed/reminded of the loss of the language. Attitudes towards Picard cannot be considered negative, but rather mixed or positive. Nevertheless, respondents remain for the most part unwilling to use Picard in most domains where French is used. I argue that current approaches to language planning and policy in France are not helpful for the future of this language.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Coeyman, Louis
• Authors: Coeyman, L.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Modern Languages and Cultures
• Journal Name: Language Documentation and Description
• Publisher: Aperio
• ISSN: 2756-1224
• ISSN (Online): 2756-1224
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).
• First Published: First published in Language Documentation and Description 22(1):1-12
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license