Acculturation, aliénation ethnique et dégénérescence patoisante dans une situation ancienne de contacts linguistiques : questions de méthode [Acculturation, ethnical alienation and dialectal degeneration in situations of linguistic contacts : methodological questions]

The above study deals with a well-defined field, viz, occitan linguistic studies. However, by building on some of the conclusions arrived at, it will undoubtedly be possible to make general statements, as the article deals with phenomena which are already familiar, namely, diglossia with bilingualism (from J. A. Fishman's classification). A careful analysis of the facts nevertheless reveals a mixed, complex structure, of a type not completely alien to bilingualism. The method proposed by the author is not only to study speech (rather than lexicon) but also to place phenomena back in their social context. We have, on the one hand, to analyse these phenomena from a diachronic viewpoint, and, on the other, to interpret them in terms of the rule which inevitably constitues the framework behind the speaker's acculturation and ethnic alienation. Though contradictory at first sight, various phenomena can be seen to be consistent when brought into contact with others that are not on the same hierarchical plane, when one comes to consider various levels of culture. These facts prove that the present-day diglossia situation is tending to shift towards bilingualism.Lafont Robert. Acculturation, aliénation ethnique et dégénérescence patoisante dans une situation ancienne de contacts linguistiques : questions de méthode [Acculturation, ethnical alienation and dialectal degeneration in situations of linguistic contacts : methodological questions]. In: Ethnies, volume 3, 1973. Linguistique et relations interethniques. pp. 27-36