[Thesis defence] 12/12/23, Sandra Najac: "Contact de langues et identité chez des Québécois d'origine haïtienne" (ICTT)

Title of the thesis

Language contact and identity among Quebecers of Haitian origin

Date and place

12 December 2023, 2pm
Avignon University, Hannah Arendt campus, thesis room

Discipline

Language sciences

Laboratory

ICTT - Cultural Identity, Texts and Theatricality

Framing

• Mrs Anika Falkert

Composition of the jury

• Mr Danh-Thành Do-Hurinville
• Mrs Sibylle Kriegel
• Mrs Gudrun Ledegen
• Mr Georges Daniel Véronique
• Mrs Anika Falkert

Summary of the thesis

Quebec's immigration and cultural policies have resulted in a large number of people of Haitian origin living in Montreal. These people find themselves in a different social environment from that of their country of origin.

Through research carried out in the Saint-Michel district of Montreal with a group of young people of different origins, but mostly of Haitian origin, we came to a number of conclusions. We found that young people of Haitian origin, while having a sometimes painful memory of otherness, develop a social bond with young people who are not of Haitian or immigrant origin. Even when the dominant language of these young people of Haitian origin is Quebec French, Haitian Creole is the emblem of this bond developed between the different young people in this neighbourhood. These young people of immigrant origin are also demonstrating social innovation and developing identity strategies, thus asserting themselves as social actors in Quebec society. What's more, the sociolinguistic dynamic in Saint-Michel fosters the vitality of Haitian Creole, which is taking an unusual route.