Doctoral Dissertation Research: French Language Diversity in Relation to Ethnicity and Geography in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes, Louisiana

语言是身份的一个重要方面。这项对南路易斯安那州拉富尔什盆地四个社区中讲法语的美国土著居民的语言的调查将是对美国土著法语及其与种族关系的第一次广泛研究。路易斯安那州的种族分类在历史上经历了许多变化，本研究将为这一正在进行的过程提供新的视角。被研究的社区位于受到海岸侵蚀威胁的土地上，这种侵蚀正在迅速进行，特别是随着最近飓风强度的增加，他们可能在未来十年内永久撤离。因此，这项研究可能是在社区消失之前记录语言的最后机会。对以法语为母语的印第安人和白人（卡津人）后裔的采访将被数字记录和录像。为了验证居民可以识别演讲者的种族和/或地区血统的说法，Dajko女士将播放预先录制的演讲片段，并要求举报人识别所呈现段落的演讲者的种族和地理血统。使用多变量统计的定量分析将允许研究者建立语言变异和种族之间的关系，以及被调查者对种族归属、性别和地理来源的归属。除了填补我们对拉富尔什盆地语言状况的理解空白之外，这项研究还将进一步深入了解路易斯安那法语与种族之间的关系，并有助于更广泛地研究民族和种族边界，因为它们与语言边界相互作用。此外，它将增强我们在后殖民背景下的身份的理解，特别是因为它涉及到美洲原住民群体和文化适应和身份形成的过程。研究结果将产生重大的政治和学术影响。例如，联邦政府涉及承认土著群体的政策是基于身份、种族和语言的学术方法，并以此为依据。这项研究的一个重要推论将是为文化文献和语言振兴的目的而对语言进行文献记录。

Language is an important aspect of identity. This investigation of the speech of Native American francophones in four communities in the Lafourche basin of Southern Louisiana will be the first extensive study of Native American French and its link with ethnicity. Ethnic categorization in Louisiana has undergone a number of changes historically, and this research will present a new perspective on this ongoing process. The communities to be studied are located on land that is threatened by coastal erosion that is proceeding so rapidly, particularly with the recent increased intensity of hurricanes, that they may be permanently evacuated within the next ten years. This study may therefore be the last opportunity to document the language before the communities disappear. Interviews with native French speakers of both Native American and White (Cajun) descent will be digitally recorded and videotaped. In order to test the claim that residents can identify a speaker's ethnic and/or regional origin, Ms. Dajko will play segments of pre-recorded speech and ask informants to identify the ethnic and geographic origin of the speakers of the passages presented. Quantitative analysis using multivariate statistics will allow the researcher to establish relationships between linguistic variation and ethnicity, and informants' ascription to others of ethnic affiliation, sex, and geographic origin. In addition to filling in the gaps in our understanding of the linguistic situation in the Lafourche basin, the study will provide further insight into the relationship between Louisiana French and ethnicity, and contribute to the broader study of ethnic and racial boundaries as they interact with linguistic boundaries. Furthermore, it will enhance our understanding of identity in post-colonial contexts, particularly as it concerns Native American groups and the processes of acculturation and identity formation. The results will have significant political as well as academic impact. For instance, federal government policy involving the recognition of native groups is based on and informed by scholarly approaches to identity, ethnicity, and language. An important corollary of this study will be the documentation of the language for the purposes of cultural documentation and language revitalization.