The first part of this volume, La Francophonie ou l'éloge de la diversité, is devoted to “Francophone cinema, between Bollywood and Hollywood.” What in particular does Francophone cinema have to offer compared with American or Indian cinema? What more does Francophone cinema have to offer? What genres does it prefer? For what audience? The second part deals with the promotion of diversity in Francophone countries, taking into consideration the cultural aspects of Francophonie in the 21st century, the linguistic description of systems in contact, tracing the historical stages which have led to the creation of this locus of cultural diversity, and focusing finally on university cooperation and Franco-British scientific research. This book brings together contributions by outstanding authors who gathered in Oxford in October 2010 at the Maison française, including: Louis-Jean Calvet: Professor at the University of Provence. In collaboration with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, he works on language policy, particularly the struggle to maintain linguistic diversity. Bernard Cerquiglini: Rector of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie. An eminent linguist and specialist on the French language, Bernard Cerquiglini is known as the “Professor” from TV5 Monde’s Merci Professeur! Philippe Lane is the Cultural Attaché at the French Embassy in London. Gudrun Ledegen: Sociolinguist, Lecturer in Linguistics at the Université de la Réunion. She specialises in contact between French and Creole in La Réunion. The discussion is complemented by contributions by Maryse Bray, Karine Chevalier, Anne-Caroline Fiévet, Hélène Gill, Amélie Hien, Gaëlle Planchenault and Alena Podhorná-Polická.

Verbal performances are often encountered in the media where they are used to embody characters or social archetypes. Performed voices define the norm as well as the linguistic Others and by doing so circulate associated values and linguistic ideologies. This book explores the idea that, far from simply being exercises in verbal skill and flair, performances of social, ethnic or gendered voices in the media not only have the power to accomplish ideological work, they are also sites of linguistic tension and negotiation. Critically examining performances of French voices in the media, this book raises the following questions: - How are repertoires of voices constructed and subsequently perpetuated in the media? - How do the stereotypic personae these voices contribute to build become familiar to national as well as transnational audiences? - How do such performed voices reproduce hegemonic ideologies of standard and non-standard languages and participate in the perpetuation of social discriminations? - How are these performed voices commodified into cultural products of otherness that may later be reclaimed by stigmatized communities? Following an innovative framework which allows for analysis of performances of varied voices and their impact in the media sphere, Voices in the Media offers a new approach to the linguistics of media performance.

Contemporary research on Caribbean literature displays a rich variety of themes, literary and cultural categories, forms, genres, languages. Still, the concept of a unified Caribbean literary space remains questionable, depending upon whether one strictly limits it to the islands, enlarges it to adopt a Latin-American perspective, or even grants it inter-American dimensions. This book is an ambitious tentative to bring together specialists from various disciplines: neither just French, Spanish, English, or Comparative studies specialists, nor strictly "Caribbean literature" specialists, but also theoreticians, cultural studies scholars, historians of cultural translation and of intercultural transfers. The contributions tackle two major questions: what is the best possible division of labor between comparative literature, cultural anthropology and models of national or regional literary histories? how should one make use of "transversal" concepts such as: memory, space, linguistic awareness, intercultural translation, orature or hybridization? Case studies and concrete projects for integrated research alternate with theoretical and historiographical contributions. This volume is of utmost interest to students of Caribbean studies in general, but also to anyone interested in Caribbean literatures in Spanish, English and French, as well as to students in comparative literature, cultural studies and transfer research.

This volume provides the first comprehensive reference work in English on the French language in all its facets. It offers a wide-ranging approach to the rich, varied, and exciting research across multiple subfields, with seven broad thematic sections covering the structures of French; the history of French; axes of variation; French around the world; French in contact with other languages; second language acquisition; and French in literature, culture, arts, and the media. Each chapter presents the state of the art and directs readers to canonical studies and essential works, while also exploring cutting-edge research and outlining future directions. The Oxford Handbook of the French Language serves both as a reference work for people who are curious to know more about the French language and as a starting point for those carrying out new research on the language and its many varieties. It will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students as well as established scholars, whether they are specialists in French linguistics or researchers in a related field looking to learn more about the language. The diversity of frameworks, approaches, and scholars in the volume demonstrates above all the variety, vitality, and vibrancy of work on the French language today.