Nathalie Dajko and Shana Walton (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781496823854
- eISBN:
- 9781496823861
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496823854.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This volume brings together for the first time essays that cover all major (currently) spoken languages in the state, all major language research in Louisiana, and all sites of language activism.This ...
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This volume brings together for the first time essays that cover all major (currently) spoken languages in the state, all major language research in Louisiana, and all sites of language activism.This allows for a cohesive, comparative understanding of the state's polyglot history and each language's place in it. The book presents work from academics and community members, providing both insider views and the views of outsider scholars with years of experience with the languages in question. The approachable style makes this appropriate for both the general public and scholars of the state and language trends.Less
This volume brings together for the first time essays that cover all major (currently) spoken languages in the state, all major language research in Louisiana, and all sites of language activism.This allows for a cohesive, comparative understanding of the state's polyglot history and each language's place in it. The book presents work from academics and community members, providing both insider views and the views of outsider scholars with years of experience with the languages in question. The approachable style makes this appropriate for both the general public and scholars of the state and language trends.
Nathalie Dajko
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- May 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781496830647
- eISBN:
- 9781496830975
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496830647.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
French on Shifting Ground introduces readers to the lower Lafourche Basin, Louisiana, where the land, a language, and a way of life are at risk due to climate change, environmental disaster, and ...
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French on Shifting Ground introduces readers to the lower Lafourche Basin, Louisiana, where the land, a language, and a way of life are at risk due to climate change, environmental disaster, and coastal erosion.
Louisiana French is endangered all around the state, but in the lower Lafourche Basin the shift to English is accompanied by the equally rapid disappearance of the land on which its speakers live. The book outlines the development of French in the region, highlighting the features that make it unique in the world, and including the first published description of the way it is spoken by the American Indian population. It then weaves together evidence from multiple lines of linguistic research, years of extensive participant observation, and personal narratives from the residents themselves to illustrate the ways in which language–in this case French–is as fundamental to the creation of place as is the physical landscape. It is a story at once scholarly and personal: the loss of the land and the concomitant loss of the language have implications for the scientific community as well as for the people whose cultures–and identities–are literally at stake.Less
French on Shifting Ground introduces readers to the lower Lafourche Basin, Louisiana, where the land, a language, and a way of life are at risk due to climate change, environmental disaster, and coastal erosion.
Louisiana French is endangered all around the state, but in the lower Lafourche Basin the shift to English is accompanied by the equally rapid disappearance of the land on which its speakers live. The book outlines the development of French in the region, highlighting the features that make it unique in the world, and including the first published description of the way it is spoken by the American Indian population. It then weaves together evidence from multiple lines of linguistic research, years of extensive participant observation, and personal narratives from the residents themselves to illustrate the ways in which language–in this case French–is as fundamental to the creation of place as is the physical landscape. It is a story at once scholarly and personal: the loss of the land and the concomitant loss of the language have implications for the scientific community as well as for the people whose cultures–and identities–are literally at stake.
