Ecarts entre compétence et pratique

9Competence 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.Competéncia e practica: perqué pòdon divergir L'estatut e l'astrada sociolinguistica de las lengas de França es analisat del punt de vista del desacordança que se pòt establir entre competéncia e practica de la lenga dominanta e de las lengas dominadas. E mai las lengas mens prestigiosas (coma l'occitan o lo breton) tendèsson, a l'ora d'ara e recentament a èsser mens utilizadas que seriá possible pels que las sabon, al benefici de la lenga dominanta e oficiala (çò es lo francés), se defend la tèsi que dins d'epòcas anterioras es lo contrari qu'èra la règla. Se pòt considerar que l'us de la lenga nauta èra de qualque biais taboïzat per un bon nombre de parlaires, çò qu'avia per efièch de protegit la vitalitat de lengas que mancavan de prestigi e d'estatut oficial. Dins la rega de trabalhs anteriors de l'autor, la tèsi sostenguda es qu'un modèl global fondat sus l'imitacion mimetica permet melhor d'exclairar e explicar lo contacte sociolinguistic, l'estabilitat o lo cambi de las practicas que lo modèl conflictual que d'autres cercaires del domeni i recorrisson