Language Policy and Bilingualism in Quebec and Puerto Rico

The author notes that Quebec and Puerto Rico face common issues related to language and national identity. Both were successively conquered by two colonial powers, France and the United Kingdom for Quebec, and Spain and the United States for Puerto Rico. In addition, both nations show a strong attachment to their language and culture (French and Spanish, respectively), despite years of colonization and attempts at assimilation by Anglophone colonial powers. In both cases, the two communities (French-speaking and Spanish-speaking) remain a majority in their respective territories, but are also minorities within a larger, English-speaking context (Canada and the United States, respectively). The author contends that this has created ambivalence among both Quebecers and Puerto Ricans toward the dominant language (English), and has led to seemingly endless debates on language policy and planning, especially in the areas of status planning, corpus planning, and acquisition planning (or educational policy). The author addresses these aspects by looking at similarities and differences between Puerto Rico and Quebec in the areas of language policy and planning, and how educational policies in both contexts have produced mixed results in terms of individual bilingualism, educational success, language maintenance, and social justice.

La Charte : La loi 101 et les Québécois d’expression anglaise / The Charter : Bill 101 and English-Speaking Quebec

Québec

Presses de l’Université Laval

2021

233-247

en

978-2-7637-5436-9