Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 14 Number: 2 Page: 98–111
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Double Minoritisation: Intragroup Domination and Cultural Hegemony
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Georges Duquette
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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 Québec. 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.
© Multilingual Matters 2001
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