The common assumption that the terms "standard French" and "popular French" are based in objective reality is challenged by looking at the variety of French usage around the world and the need for true communicative competence. (MSE)

Describes a study concerned with distinguishing certain phonological and morphological features of the three dialects of Occitan, a language spoken in the south of France. Results indicate that variations in pronunciation seem to depend on sociolinguistic, as well as geographical factors, and in fact, related dialects and language cannot be…

Overviews the Ivory Coast's sociolinguistic situation. Standard French, restricted to the elite, is threatened by the local lingua franca. The spread and functional allocations of Dyula and Popular French support the point that the pervasive use of a language does not always lead to its adoption as a national language. (CB)

Salient lexical, phonetic, and morphological peculiarities of the vernacular French of Quebec are examined and explained, and similarities to European popular French are discussed, both as a guide to texts written in the vernacular and to place this variety in its sociolinguistic context. (Author/MSE)