Living in Ontario French

Abstract

Abstract This article presents a variationist analysis of verbs meaning “reside” in Ontario French. Four lexical variants are examined: demeurer, habiter, rester and vivre. Results reveal that rester is used most often by unrestricted speakers and least often by those whose use of French is restricted. Vivre is found frequently in the speech of restricted speakers. This result is attributed to intersystemic transfer from English, due to the similarities between vivre and the English verb live. Demeurer is used most often in the minority community of Pembroke. Finally, habiter is almost never used in Ontario French. In addition, variation is shown to be conditioned by lexical priming.