Double Minoritisation: Intragroup Domination and Cultural Hegemony
Title:
Double Minoritisation: Intragroup Domination and Cultural Hegemony
Author:
Duquette, Georges
Appeared in:
Language culture and curriculum
Paging:
Volume 14 (2001) nr. 2 pages 98-111
Year:
2001-12-01
Contents:
Many authors have written about language dominance between groups, but little has been said about dominance within groups. The following paper is a reflective essay upon within-group dominance in minority language settings. For instance, in Canada, there exists not one, but two homogeneous majority language groups who are competing for the integration and ultimate assimilation of minority language, bilingual populations. For years, minority language, bilingual populations whose mother tongue is French have experienced difficulty in developing and defining their own identity, cultural and language skills. They have worked to escape the dominating influence of monolingual English speakers only to find their organisations and institutions caught under the influence of a French-speaking elite which, because it is in a position of power, imposes its own values, its identity, and its cultural heritage upon the larger bilingual minority language population. The result has been an alienation and an increase in the assimilation of the largest population of French-language speakers outside Quebec. This paper will discuss within-group domination and its alienation effects upon this particular French-speaking minority language, bilingual population and recommend new avenues of research.
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