| The language question has been a major topic of debate in Quebec since the 1960s. This study examines the politics of language in light of the increasing diversity of Quebec society, focussing on the state discourses on language policy and planning during the last two terms of the Parti quebecois (PQ) government (September 1994 - April 2003) and the reactions these discourses have produced. Based on an integrated analysis of government documents and archival data, the study explores the connection between language policy, language ideologies, and broader sociopolitical developments in Quebec, particularly in the pluriethnic Montreal metropolitan region.; The Quebec state tried to institute a discursive shift from an ethnic to a civic nationalism after the 1995 referendum on sovereignty. This civic nationalism no longer defines itself as a French-Canadian nationalism, but as a nationalism for all Quebecers. The Quebec state managed to institute this discursive shift but under conditions of contestation. This thesis explores the Quebec state's struggles with the ideological legitimacy of its language policy caught between the ethnolinguistic nationalism that was the original foundation for legitimacy of the state and its policies and the contradictions this has in a state that is trying to be open, inclusive, and democratic. Some particularly revealing moments when this tension becomes evident are examined. The thesis is, then, about the struggles, the contradictions between ethnolinguistic minority nationalism and inclusive democracy in a pluriethnic society.; The study helps us understand the role played by language ideologies in more general sociopolitical developments, conflicts, and struggles. In Quebec, the debates about language are clearly political and are, in essence, debates about identity and the nation. Language policy and planning have to be seen as primarily political and ideological endeavors. Language policy is a dynamic and dialogic process; it evolves together with the state, civil society, and society at large. Various social and political actors not only have participated in the language ideological debates, but also have contributed to the evolution of Quebec language policy and planning during the period in question. |
