Gallicisms: An Analysis Leading Towards a Prototype Gallicisms Checker

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Gallicisms: An Analysis Leading Towards a Prototype Gallicisms Checker
Abstract
The anglicization of French has long been perceived as a major problem and much effort has been made both in France and in Canada to minimize its effects. The gallicization of English, though a problem of much smaller magnitude, has also been observed, particularly in Quebec where French is the dominant language. However, gallicization has received much less attention than anglicization. In fact, the author points out, there seems to be little concern among Quebec Anglophones over the gallicization of English, which many do not perceive as being a problem. This lack of interest, the author warns, is not without potential consequences, for, as several linguists have noted, if the current trend towards "Frenglish" is not halted, the English language of Quebec's Anglophone minority may eventually become unintelligible to other English-speaking Canadians. The author's study of gallicization has two main objectives: to provide a theoretical and historical background to the phenomenon, and to create a prototype checker of gallicisms. The study includes: a discussion of interference, borrowing and gallicisms, including a definition of the term "gallicism"; a brief history of the English language in Canada with an emphasis on the various influences that have shaped Canadian English; a discussion of Quebec English and its distinguishing feature -- gallicisms; a classification system of the different types of gallicism; a set of procedures for verifying suspected gallicisms; the results of an informal experiment where commercially-available tools were applied to a test document containing known gallicisms; and a description of a prototype gallicisms checker.
Type
Master's Thesis
University
University of Ottawa
Place
Ottawa, ON
Date
1994
# of Pages
vi-192p.
Language
en
URL
Citation
Yuen, Adrienne L. “Gallicisms: An Analysis Leading Towards a Prototype Gallicisms Checker.” Master’s Thesis, University of Ottawa, 1994. https://ruor.uottawa.ca/bitstream/10393/10340/1/MM07894.PDF.
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