ab st rac t Our article presents a variationist analysis of future verb forms in Acadian French. The main variants considered are the inflected future (e.g. je partirai) and the periphrastic future (e.g. je vais partir). The purpose of this study is twofold: a) it will determine the distribution of these variants and their linguistic correlates; b) it will compare the use of future verb forms with other varieties of French. Our results reveal that the inflected future is used with greater frequency in Acadian French than in other Canadian varieties and that the factors that condition the variable in Acadian are not the same as in other varieties. i nt roduc t i onThe present article examines the expression of future temporal reference in Acadian French. Two principal variants are used with this function, namely, the periphrastic (aller 'to go' + infinitive, also known as the futur proche or 'near future') and the inflected (also known as the futur simple or 'simple future') future. The variable has been the subject of a number of studies of both European and Canadian French. For Quebec and Ontario French in particular, the case has been made that the inflected future has lost considerable ground to the periphrastic future including in contexts where traditional grammars prescribe the former. In our study we determine the overall distribution of the two variants in three varieties of Acadian French and consider the factors that influence variant choice. Our results show robust use of the inflected future and choice of variant correlated with a number of factors traditionally associated with such use, providing evidence of the conservative nature of the Acadian varieties. the variableThe two variants that have been the object of quantitative analysis in our study are presented in examples 1a) and 1b):323

In this article we consider the implications of the social construction of meaning for the possibility of language reform. Since meanings are socially determined and since the dominant culture is sexist, it is not surprising that women's meanings are often appropriated by that culture and that gender-based language reform is not always successful. Based on an analysis of attempts at gender-based language reform in Canada and in particular at York University, we consider relative success in terms of the support they have received in a given speech community. In so doing, we identify those factors which promote (e.g. being situated as part of a larger sociopolitical goal such as the achievement of employment equity) as opposed to those which hinder (e.g. being left to the discretion of individuals within an organization) language change.

In arguing for the necessity of gender-based language reform, feminist theorists have generally assumed that language is not a neutral and transparent means of representing reality. Rather, language is assumed to codify an androcentric worldview. While sexist language clearly reflects sexist social practices, the continuing existence of such practices throws into question the possibility of successful language reform. Because linguistic meanings are, to a large extent, socially constructed and constituted, terms initially introduced to be nonsexist and neutral may lose their neutrality in the mouths of a sexist speech community and/or culture. In this article we first examine the way in which nonsexist innovations have been appropriated by a sexist speech community. More specifically, we examine uses of neutral generics such as chairperson, spokesperson; singular they; he or she; and neutral titles such as Ms.; and we demonstrate that these terms are often not used nor interpreted in their intended (neutral) way. Rather, they are used in ways that maintain sexist stereotypes and distinctions. Then we examine the use of feminist linguistic innovations as they appear in the print media. We demonstrate the extent to which such terms get redefined and depoliticized by a speech community that is not predominantly feminist and is often sexist. (Language and gender, language and race, nonsexist language, gender-based language reform, neutral generics, discourse analysis)

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This study investigates mood choice for five Acadian French communities in Atlantic Canada which have intertwined settlement histories but which differ in terms of type and degree of dialect contact. The two communities with least contact with supralocal French preserve the highly salient imperfect subjunctive, moribund or absent from most other present-day spoken French varieties. While four communities exhibit high selection rates for the present subjunctive, in line with variationist analyses of other French varieties, one community has surprisingly low rates of such usage, along with absence of the imperfect subjunctive. This dichotomy is explained by the local prestige of the smaller of two founder groups for the community, settlers from Haute-Bretagne, France, a dialect area for which the historical record reveals low levels of subjunctive forms. The results highlight the importance not only of demographic factors but also of local identity construction in the formation of new contact varieties.