2013
info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
Patrick Sauzet, « Ecarts entre compétence et pratique », HAL-SHS : linguistique, ID : 10670/1.4iauxl
Competence and Performance: Explaining the Spread The sociolinguistic status and fate of the languages of France is analysed from the point of view of the discrepancies that can be observed between competence and performance in dominating and dominated languages. Although in recent times languages with less prestige (e.g. Occitan or Breton) tend to be underused by their speakers to the benefit of the official language (viz. French), it is argued that the opposite was true in older times. The use of the high language can be considered to have been in some sense tabooed for a number of speakers, with the effect to protect the vitality of languages lacking prestige and official status. A mimesis based overall model for sociolinguistic contact, stability and change is assumed (in the continuation of previous work by the author) and is suggested to have more explanatory strength than conflict based models often appealed to by other researchers in the field.