A Case for Acadian—The Politics of Style

Abstract

The Lettres (1895-1898) of Marichette are graphic evidence of the effects of language contact with the socially and economically dominant English on her Franco-Acadian dialect. I explore her penchant for code-switching and attempt to relate this aspect of the writer’s style to her political commentary. Two categories of code-switching can be identified: the first occurs notably with structures that have perlocutionary force, and is characteristic of the prose style she adopts; the second is motivated by the desire to represent or suggest the speech of another. The socio-linguistic commentary implied by the use of English is further developed by Marichette’s manipulation of the quality of the spoken English she represents. Its juxtaposition with academic French and the formal style of other contributors to the weekly newspaper L’Evangéline, in which they first appeared, at the end of the nineteenth century, further heighten the visual shock value of the letters.