French in Africa: principles of study (based on francophone studies from the late 20th to the early 21st century)

Abstract

The interest in African issues is explained not only by the political and economic factors behind the rise of the “great South”, but also by the scholarly need to systematize the principles of studying French, used in African countries as a “reserve” of Francophonie. The purpose of the article is to consider the approaches developed by French-speaking authors of the second half of the XX — beginning of the XXI century. Taking into account the concepts of P. Wald, K. Blanche-Benveniste, B.A. Boutin, F. Gade, A. Lanly, G. Manessi, R. Chaudenson, J. Segui and others a transition is observed from targeted case studies to the exploration of broader linguistic spaces, with attention to the development trends of non-standard French speech and the interaction between exogenous norms and Franco-African endogenous norms. The approaches to the classification of African French are examined, including the shift from the three-level model of basilect–mesolect–acrolect to criteria based on the study of the image, functions, status, and modes of appropriation of the French language. The development of French language skills is analyzed: official (international sphere, school); local (rural areas and small towns); interethnic communication (large cities, megacities). Th e dynamics of studying the functional system of the language and the degree of its variation are traced, along with the interaction between local and common African features of French. Emphasis is placed on the growing role of metropolises in the development of hybrid and mixed forms that include elements of linguistic play. Special attention is given to the instability and situational nature of variation, which is based on the categorization of the interlocutor, speech act, and communicative context.

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