Albert Valdman, Julie Auger, and Deborah Piston-Hatlen (eds.), Le Français en Amérique du Nord: État présent

Extract

Albert Valdman, Julie Auger, and Deborah Piston-Hatlen (eds.), Le Français en Amérique du Nord: État présent. Quebec: Presses de l'Université Laval, 2005. Pp. 583. Hb. $45.00.

The loss of Quebec to Great Britain in 1763, the sale of Louisiana to the United States four decades later, and low levels of emigration from France to North America in the 19th century all serve to mask the major role played by French speakers in the European settlement of the continent in the 17th and 18th centuries, the linguistic consequences of which are still with us. In this fine collection of studies, the picture that emerges of French in North America today is one of contrasts: successful efforts to reverse language shift in Quebec, varying degrees of failure elsewhere.