La comparaison comme itinéraire de recherche : Étudier les langues d’un point de vue qualitatif et quantitatif

Abstract

This article aims to retrace a research itinerary in the sociology of languages and to show how different field opportunities have come to question a theoretical analysis under construction on the perception, categorization and delimitation of languages in France. The progressive comparison of qualitative and quantitative fields favors an ethos of decentering and reflexivity. In a context where research time is becoming shorter and the injunctions to produce results quickly do not necessarily seem to be conducive to continuous comparison and the progressive construction of a formal theory, the purpose here is to show that this succession of linked fields remains, even if fragmented, conducive to the accumulation of results which reinforce the analyses produced and tirelessly bring out new questions. Admittedly, since the units of observation are of variable geometry, this cumulativity is not always possible when moving from a micro perspective to a macro analysis, but the passage from one level of observation to another at least has the merit of questioning the mode of construction of the categories used.

Keywords

• comparison ; inductive approach ; languages ; reflexivity