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Marie Thuillier (Linguistics major)
"Social Perceptions and Attitudes about the Revitalization of Cauchois, a Dialect Spoken in Seine-Maritime (Haute-Normandie, France)"
Sponsor: Gary Holland, Linguistics
Project Description
In July 2008, the French government finally listed Cauchois, the Norman dialect spoken in Seine Maritime, as an official language of France. Until then, the very existence of a Norman language, and hence of Cauchois had been denied. Similarly, many speakers of the dialect have often and inaccurately defined the language as either "dead" or as a non-standard version of French. In recent years, however, diverse social groups have actively reclaimed and promoted Cauchois. Marie's research will investigate the discourses and strategies used by different groups to either reject or support the recognition and preservation of Cauchois. It will further investigate the attitudes of Cauchois users from different socioeconomic backgrounds. The latter are from the Jumièges Loop, a small Cauchois-speaking area in the Northern part of the Seine Valley.
Scholar's Photo
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My grand-parents, my inspiration and my reward. |
Scholar's Journal
This summer, I went to the Jumieges Loop (Normandy, France) and conducted interviews with my family members and acquaintances such as my 1st grade teacher I had not seen since then, the mayor of the town, a Great uncle I had never met and his children with whom I turned out to have a lot in common. I met with Cauchois and Norman language experts, dialectologists, adolescents, Cauchois writers, sociolinguists, journalists, performers, and web site creators. I went “home” to study “social perceptions and attitudes about the preservation of Cauchois, a Norman dialect spoken in Seine Maritime,” which happens to be the title of my thesis. Although I prepared extensively for this research, I could have never been ready for what I found and what I experienced.
I witnessed and felt the emotions and the random thoughts Cauchois triggers. I saw the value of social connections and personal experiences in how we think about language and life in general. I recorded the exquisite tangents and memories Cauchois evokes. With each interview, the “participants” and I deconstructed and rebuilt the way we thought about Language and languages. I learned the funniest expressions and the most delightful ways to translate the world. Back home, to express that someone is very very sociable and almost naive, we say that he/she would talk to “kin coiffé” which means “a dog with a hat” or “a combed dog”(you had to be there!).
I discovered that my study itself was a reflection of what had been done before but also could be a foundation for what is to come. I was not an observer but a full participant in the revitalization process and so in the evolution of the language. My questionnaires and interviews created opportunities for families and friends to explore, exchange, and finally grasp each other's world view. I was humbled and flattered by the way people welcomed and participated in my study.
I guess what I am really doing then -and this came to me as I was riding my bike to get to the next interview- is the modern story of Cauchois in Jumieges. It is as specific and as random as it sounds. The past has been preserved, is being preserved through writings and other kinds of strategies...and now what? Cauchois is not limited in time and space, it is a continuum like any other language. It can be revitalized, actually it has been. I am very excited about this thought because Cauchois can be a great pedagogical tool as well as a meeting point for different generations to think about the past and the future not as a dichotomy but as a continuum. My thesis has not changed but the concreteness and depth of my understanding have..It is a slice of life, a story of people and of Cauchois. It is so much fun to uncover, reveal, and unveil the knowledge and impressions of people but also the processes they go through in order to have access to their own minds.
For my research, I collected more than enough data and hopefully I will be able to write a great thesis. The most important thing, however, was the process of making it happen...yes the reward is the journey with all its joys but also all its pains. Let me talk about that too! Loneliness, doubt, incertitude, insecurities about life in general, were unavoidable parts of the process. The process itself is not responsible for them but exacerbates and reveals these dormant feelings and thoughts. This research was for reasons a mirror of my life and my work, and I was forced to look at it. How I dealt with it? By embracing what I could not change and by making efforts to change what I could but most importantly I owed it to myself and to those who helped me, to snap out of it and do the best I could. I still can't believe I was paid to do this!
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