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English in French Commercial Advertising: simultaneity, bivalency, and language boundaries

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Amos, Will (2020) English in French Commercial Advertising: simultaneity, bivalency, and language boundaries. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 24 (1). pp. 55-74. doi:10.1111/josl.12386 ISSN 1360-6441.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12386

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Abstract

In recent decades, sociolinguists have begun to challenge the traditional view that multilingualism is fundamentally composed of discrete systems known as ‘languages’. Supporting the assessment that languages are not bounded entities but sociocultural and ideological constructions, this article explores commercial advertisements in France, which are subject to language policies assuming that ‘French’ is easily separable from ‘foreign languages’. Employing the Bakhtinian-influenced notion of bivalency developed by Woolard (1998), the article argues for a special consideration of mixed-language advertising in France, rooted not only in linguistic form, but also in the specific contextual tension produced by the socio-political statuses of French and English. The resulting creativity challenges the monolectal assumptions within French language management, indicating a clash of segregational language ideology with integrational language practices. The article further argues that this language mixing is bidirectional, as advertisements may both erase and emphasise the assumed boundaries between codes.

Dans des décennies récentes, la sociolinguistique commence à disputer le point de vue traditionnel que le plurilinguisme se compose de systèmes discrets connus comme des « langues ». Conforme à la position que les langues ne sont pas des entités bornées mais des constructions socioculturelles et idéologiques, cet article examine la publicité commerciale en France, elle-même sujette aux contraintes exercées par la politique linguistique pour laquelle « le français » est facilement séparable des « langues étrangères ». Au vu du concept Bakhtinien de la bivalence conçue par Woolard (1998), l’article maintient une considération spéciale de la publicité plurilingue en France, enracinée non seulement dans la forme linguistique, mais également dans la tension contextuelle spécifique produite par les statuts sociopolitiques du français et de l’anglais. La créativité qui en découle met au défi les suppositions monolectales dans la gestion de langue française, ce qui indique un conflit entre l’idéologie ségrégationniste de langue et ces pratiques plus intégrationnistes. L’article propose que ce mélange soit bidirectionnel, car les publicités sont capables d’effacer ainsi que de souligner les frontières entres les codes.

Item Type: Journal Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages
P Language and Literature > PC Romance languages
P Language and Literature > PE English
Divisions: Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures > French Studies
Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Advertising , Language and languages in advertising , Multilingualism, English language -- France, French language , French language -- Foreign elements -- English
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Sociolinguistics
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
ISSN: 1360-6441
Official Date: February 2020
Dates:
DateEvent
February 2020Published
30 September 2019Available
26 August 2019Accepted
Volume: 24
Number: 1
Page Range: pp. 55-74
DOI: 10.1111/josl.12386
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Amos, H.W. (2020), English in French Commercial Advertising: Simultaneity, bivalency, and language boundaries. J Sociolinguistics, 24: 55-74. doi:10.1111/josl.12386, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12386. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.
Access rights to Published version: Restricted or Subscription Access
Date of first compliant deposit: 2 October 2019
Date of first compliant Open Access: 30 September 2021

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