Language ideologies and linguistic representations: Two lenses for a critical analysis of polynomie in Corsica

Abstract

AbstractIn this article, we question one of the important notions of the Corsican normative conceptual apparatus: the polynomie. This concept is particularly interesting as a language ideological position that calls into question dominant ideological perspectives on standardization and normalization. This article puts the polynomie in an ideological process that calls for a critical sociolinguistic analysis that first accounts for the interaction between sociolinguistic, economic, political and ideological domains. That critical sociolinguistic perspective emphasizes that all language ideological frameworks – even those which recognize diversity – impose particular criteria and give value to some ways of speaking and being over others.