Regional variation and the commodification of language in southwest France

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In societies that develop strict hierarchies of linguisticprestige (like France), subordinate language varieties can bethreatened. The survival of linguistic and cultural diversitycan come to depend on a community's capacity tocommodify their traditional practices within a particularregime of ideologies. This project examines how Frenchregional language becomes commodified as emblems ofplace in different ways in two southern French regions:Bordeaux and Toulouse. The project uses language practicesand language change as a window into the wider political andeconomic dynamics of place.In France, a strong prescriptivist tradition has led to a highdegree of standardisation of regional French as well asdialect levelling in favour of uniform supralocal norms(Amstrong & Pooley, 2010; Blanchet & Armstrong, 2006;Pooley, 2000). Nevertheless, some regionalisms remain. Thisproject focuses on how such regionalisms becomecommodified as emblems of place in Bordeaux andToulouse. The two sites are chosen because while they areboth located in a similar geographical area (southwest10 / 14France) and share certain cultural and administrativefeatures (e.g. southern gastronomy, capitals of their localadministrative districts), they also differ in important ways. Amajor difference is their physical and symbolic proximity toParis. The Bordeaux city council has a stated goal ofdistinguishing itself from other southern cities and drawingcloser links to the capital, goals that Toulouse does notshare. Both have large tourist industries, though whileBordeaux tends to attract a wealthy clientele to its nearbyseaside and wine-growing region, Toulouse relies instead onbusiness tourism (it is a European centre for the aeronauticindustry). Thus, these characteristics impact differently onthe ways regional varieties of French (and regional languagein Toulouse) are commodified and linked to place. In bothcities local gastronomy is a symbol of regional identity andauthenticity, however consumer targets are different and soare the commodification strategies. For instance, whilegastronomy in Bordeaux is presented as a luxury and relieson social prestige, Toulouse gastronomy promotes terroircuisine. In this way, when selling/promoting local produce,speakers in Bordeaux may want to erase their southwesternaccent - perceived as funny and ridiculous by Parisians(Pustka, 2011) - while those in Toulouse would emphasisetheir regional features. Finally, although Bordeaux andToulouse are both historic homes to varieties of Occitan(Gascon and Languedocien, respectively), Gascon hasdisappeared entirely in Bordeaux, whereas Toulousemaintains an explicit language policy promoting the visibilityand use of Languedocien. Bordeaux and Toulouse thusdiverge in terms of their social attitudes and languagenorms, with Bordeaux converging towards Parisian prestigenorms, whereas Toulouse distances itself from them.These differences raise a number of questions about therelationship between language, place and identity. Given thedifferences between Bordeaux and Toulouse, when andunder what conditions do people living in these locations relyon linguistic regionalisms to add value to who they are and/orwhat they sell? In addition, since urban and rural areas ofthese regions do not display authenticity in the same ways(e.g., production of local food in rural peripheries and theirsale in urban areas), what different strategies do urban vsrural dwellers draw upon to convey and sell their own regionalheritage?