Teaching French: Parisian Standard or Francophone Diversity?

Nikolovski, Zoran (2025) Teaching French: Parisian Standard or Francophone Diversity? In: 6th Education Across Borders Conference 2025 (EABC) Reimagining Education in the Modern Age (REMA), October 3rd - 4th, 2025, Faculty of Education in Bitola, University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, RN Macedonia. (Unpublished)

Slideshow Teaching French-Parisian Standard or Francophone Diversity.pptx - Presentation Download (51kB)

Abstract

In a rapidly changing Francophone world shaped by globalization, mobility, and shifting linguistic identities, the traditional standard of French—historically aligned with Parisian usage—is increasingly being challenged. This article investigates the ideological, political, and pedagogical foundations of the so-called “standard norm” by tracing its development from the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts to its institutionalization through the French Republican school system in the 19th century. It shows how this norm came to be viewed as the sole linguistic reference, often at the expense of the rich diversity of Francophone varieties.
From a critical sociolinguistic perspective, the article explores French as a pluricentric language. Across Quebec, Sub-Saharan Africa, Belgium, Switzerland, and the French overseas territories, locally legitimate varieties coexist with the dominant norm. This linguistic diversity—historically overlooked in educational policy—raises key issues regarding intelligibility, cultural representation, and pedagogical equity.
Drawing on case studies, including textbook analyses and qualitative data from teachers in multilingual contexts, the article illustrates the tensions between normative prescriptions and real-world plurilingual practices. It concludes by outlining the principles of an inclusive pedagogy, based on the legitimation of diverse usages, teacher training in linguistic variation, and adaptation of curricular resources. Such an approach offers a way to reconcile linguistic standards with social justice, and to foster more representative, equitable, and effective teaching of French in today’s global Francophone space.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Plural Francophonie, Language standardization, French language teaching, Sociolinguistic variation, Linguistic discrimination
Subjects:	Scientific Fields (Frascati) > Humanities > Languages and literature
Divisions:	Faculty of Economics
Depositing User:	Prof. d-r Zoran Nikolovski
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2025 10:43
Last Modified:	08 Oct 2025 10:43
URI:	https://eprints.uklo.edu.mk/id/eprint/11131

Actions (login required)

View Item