Regional Language Policies in France during World War II [Hardcover]

During Germany's occupation of France in WWII, French regional languages became a way for people to assert their local identities. This book offers a detailed historical sociolinguistic analysis of the various language policies applied in France's regions (Brittany, Southern France, Corsica and Alsace) before, during and after WWII.1. Introduction 2. History of 'Top-down' Policy towards Regional Languages in France 3. Brittany 4. Southern France 5. Corsica 6. Alsace 7. Evaluation and Assessment of Regional Language Policies and Regionalist Movements in France During World War II 8. From Exclusion to Inclusion? The Post-war Effects on Regional Languages in France 9. Conclusions ?

Amits book certainly makes a vital contribution to the scholarly field of French language policy, French history, and national minorities through a historical-sociolinguistic lens. Graduate students and scholars working in these areas will find the historical-sociolinguistic trajectories of the various language policies applied in Frances regions stimulating and thought-provoking. (Elisabeth Barakos, Journal of Language and Politics, Vol. 18 (3), 2019)

In this rich and ambitious book & Aviv Amit sets out to compare the wartime sociolinguistic trajectories of four of Frances minority-language communities, namely Breton, Occitan, Corsican and Alsatian. & this book certainly makes recommended reading for anyone interested in French language policy or French national minorities. (Geoffrey Roger, Language Policy, Vol. 15, 2016)

Aviv Amit is a Teaching Fellow at the Department of French Studies in Tel Aviv University, Israel. He has published numerous articles and a book in the area of sociolinguistics, language policy and language contacts.