Multilingual London English/Multilingual Paris French
Lead Research Organisation:
Birkbeck, University of London
Department Name: Applied Linguistics & Communication
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
Publications
Cheshire J
(2013)
Relative who and the actuation problem
in Lingua
Cheshire J
(2013)
Grammaticalisation in social context: The emergence of a new English pronoun
in Journal of Sociolinguistics
Cheshire J
(2011)
Contact, the feature pool and the speech community: The emergence of Multicultural London English
in Journal of Sociolinguistics
Cheshire J.
(2018)
The origins of new quotative expressions: the case of Paris French
in Journal of French Language Studies
Cheshire, J.
(2015)
Emerging multiethnolects in Europe.
in Queen Mary OPALs (Occasional Papers in Linguistics)
Cheshire, J.
(2013)
Language contact and language change in the multicultural metropolis
in Revue française de linguistique appliquée
Gardner-Chloros P
(2011)
Franco-British Academic Partnerships: The Next Chapter
Gardner-Chloros P.
Migrant & Host Community Languages: Interaction & Possible Outcomes
Gardner-Chloros P.
(2018)
Grammatical change in Paris French: In-situ question words in embedded contexts
in Journal of French Language Studies
| Description | Our initial hypothesis was that we would find evidence of a 'Multiethnolect' in Paris, comparable to that identified in London, Berlin and other (Northern European) capitals; by this we mean a set of innovative linguistic features shared by young people regardless of their ethnic origin, including Anglos in London/Francos in Paris. However we were unable to find evidence of such a variety in Paris. Certain new discourse features like 'et tout' (and all) and new quotative expressions, such as the use of 'genre' in a way that parallels English 'be like', do appear to be spreading among young people regardless of their ethnicity and friendship network; but there is no evidence that these innovations originate in multiethnic friendship groups. Other new features - phonological, lexical and syntactic, e.g. the use of a new syntactic structure which involves putting the question word at the end of indirect questions (e.g.'tu sais il a dit quoi' - you know he said what) - correspond with specific social and ethnic identities and do not appear to be used by Franco speakers. We attempt to explain the contrast between Paris and London thanks to a range of factors. These include attitudes and policy towards multiculturalism in France; different ideologies about the national language; a lack of support for the use of languages of origin, notably in schools; differences in the physical implantation of the immigrant communities in the two cities; and differences in the sense of inclusion/exclusion of the young people themselves. Though contrary to expectations, as our results did not identify a 'common code' among young people in France, the outcome is nevertheless highly informative as regards the reflection of social processes in language. It underscores the strong relationship, which is at the core of sociolinguistics, between specific social conditions and the modalities of language change. Our analyses are the first (as far as we know) to analyse systematically /quantitatively variation and change in the informal spontaneous speech of young people in Paris and, in some cases, such as the quotative system, to compare ongoing changes in spoken French with similar changes in spoken English. This comparison of similar changes in typologically distinct languages has provided new insights into general processes of language change. |
| Exploitation Route | We anticipate that further research on spoken French will be carried out to explore our findings. We also hope that others will extend our findings by making comparisons with further cities, notably in Southern Europe, with a varied population of immigrant origin (e.g. Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Athens). |
| Sectors | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://mle-mpf.bbk.ac.uk |
| Description | (i) The research team worked with teachers to explore the educational implications of the research, disseminate findings, design resources for use in classrooms and organise workshops. In the first phase work was carried out with teachers of both English and French in London and with teachers of French in Paris, to explore approaches to the study of language variation and young people's vernacular in the classroom. (ii) The consultant then developed resources based on audio files and transcripts from the MLE/MPF corpus. These were designed to involve pupils directly in research, discussion and exploration of contemporary informal French; to relate these explorations to their own use of informal English in a range of social contexts and to encourage collaborations and exchanges between French and English schools. The resources built on those developed under the MLE project at QMUL and were developed in collaboration with teachers in two schools in east London and one in Paris. They are grouped in a 40 page Resource Booklet which includes a summary of key findings from the MLE/MPF project related to the classroom activities. These are available on the Birkbeck MLE/MPF website together with a full dissemination report. (iii) Interactive PowerPoints and attendant activities for young people based on the project have been added to the Sociolinguistics section of MUNDOLINGUA, Paris, one of only two museums of language in the world, in the section: 'Language Change'. (iv) Three successful workshops for researchers and teachers were organised, one in Paris in 2013 (at the invitation of the British Council) and two in London in 2014. Testimonials from attendees are available. (v) So far three university courses, 1 in Potsdam, Germany, 1 at Univ. of Illinois & 1 at Coventry University are using materials from the project as a focus for teaching. Details are available in the full report on our website. (vi) The full trancripts and synchronised recordings of the data collected have been anonymised and will shortly be available on the website for researchers to use. They will be publicised through various linguistic distribution lists. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Title | MPF Recordings and transcripts |
| Description | Recordings of informal speech of young people in Paris |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | This has just been uploaded. |
| URL | http://www.mle-mpf.bbk.ac.uk/Rec/ |
| Description | Laboratoire MoDyCo - UMR 7114 Université Paris Ouest Nanterre |
| Organisation | Paris West University Nanterre La Défense |
| Department | Models, Dynamics, Corpus (MoDyCo) |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | For the first two years of the project, it was conceived as a partnership with the Paris team named above. We held several joint meetings but the French partners then pulled out of the partnership. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We held several joint meetings but the French partners then pulled out of the partnership. We were permitted to use a small portion of their data. |
| Impact | none |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | 'Analysing Speech' Masterclass |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Workshop for staff and students from different departments at Birkbeck whose research involves analysing language. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | AFLS Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Workshop will take place in December and is intended to disseminate Project results to colleagues, peers and postgraduate students. Not yet taken place. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Inclusion of Project materials in Museum of Language in Paris ('Mundolingua') |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The material has been added to the Museum's offerings and will be used by schools and teachers, who are the main audience of this Museum. None yet. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.mundolingua.org/en/ |
| Description | Teacher training workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Workshop for student teachers on types of language acceptable for teaching and discussion in school contexts, taking account of sociolinguistic findings on young people's speech. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Teacher workshops in London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participants agreed to keep in touch through a network and to share experiences of trying out the materials developed. Recommendations regarding language teaching both in UK and France, based on feedback received during these sessions, have been added to our Report on Dissemination (see publications). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://mle-mpf.bbk.ac.uk/resources |
| Description | Teacher workshops in London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Participants agreed to keep in touch through a network and to share experiences of trying out the materials developed. Recommendations regarding language teaching both in UK and France, based on feedback received during these sessions, have been added to our Report on Dissemination (see publications). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://mle-mpf.bbk.ac.uk/resources |
| Description | Workshop for teachers at British Institute in Paris |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk sparked comparison of French and English curricula and language teaching methods. Teachers agreed to try out activities in their classes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://mle-mpf.bbk.ac.uk/resources |