Une Analyse de la Situation Linguistique en Martinique

Abstract

In Martinique, two languages coexist. French–the standardized official language of the Lesser Antilles island–is the primary language of communication and it occupies formal domains. Martinican Creole is reserved for use with family and friends. In this Senior Integrated Project, the author discusses social attitudes towards each language using data obtained from interviews she conducted with a few residents of Martinique. She examines language planning and policy of the territory, taking into consideration its political status as an overseas region and department of France. Additionally, she compares the linguistic situation of Martinique to that of Jamaica, her home country.

Keywords: language planning & policy, diglossia, creoles, French creoles, sociolinguistics