Rôle des politiques linguistiques familiales dans le processus de maintien du parikwaki à Saint-Georges de l’Oyapock (Guyane française)

Abstract

This article analyzes the strategies used by speakers to maintain Parikwaki, a minority language, in the specific context of the commune of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock in French Guiana. Their agentivity in maintaining this language is highlighted through an analysis of their linguistic ideologies and their actual family language practices. The analysis is part of a dynamic and relational conception of language issues which, beyond the macrosociolinguistic constraints defining the favorable or unfavorable conditions for the evolution of a language, enables us to put into perspective the real potential of the effects of language policies in maintaining or weakening a language considered to be in danger. Thus, by describing the language practices of the Parikwene of Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, we show that a dynamic practice of a language in the family context determines its maintenance by younger generations.

Keywords

• family language practices
• language policies
• French Guiana
• pariwaki
• linguistic ideologies