Acceso usuarios
Jacques Maurais
The author of this article brings forward certain elements with which to assess the linguistic planning carried out by the government of Quebec; the starting point of this analysis is the initial aims of the government's linguistic policy. The Charter of the French Language, ratified in 1977, stated the purpose that French should become the common language in Quebec, but it did not specify which conditions would determine when this purpose would be achieved. Over the years, the initial aims of this linguistic policy have been left aside. Legal sentences, legislative proceedings, a lack of administrative coordination and a hesitant political will have contributed to a come-back of official bilingualism. It would be necessary to review some unfounded sociolinguistic hypotheses on which linguistic policy is based, such as the principle of terminological overflow of big firms into medium and small firms, or the principle of compelling firms to use French as a solution to the language hierarchy existing in the working spheres. The author explains the need to regain the concept of a common language by using it in labelling and to analyze the question of linguistic frontier inside the firms, taking into account the concept to diglotic practice. He also suggests reexamining the role of schools in linguistic planning. Despite these needs, the author observes that universities show a lack of interest towards research in linguistic planning. The author comes to the conclusion that Quebec has expected too much from its linguistic policy, as the functions it has been given would be better carried out by birth or immigration policies.
