Language plurality as power struggle: Translating politics in Canada

Chantal Gagnon
Concordia University, Montreal

Abstract

For this paper, heterolingualism or language plurality will be considered as the presence in a single text or in a social environment of both French and English, Canada’s offcial languages. Language plurality will here be studied from an institutional viewpoint: the influence of the Canadian government on the translation of political speeches. The first part of this article will establish that political speeches are written in a bilingual environment where the two offcial languages are often in contact. This bilingualism, however, is often homogenised when it comes to speech delivery and publication. Therefore, the second part focuses on the speeches’ paratextual features and the third looks at the speeches’ textual features.

Keywords:
Table of contents

Pierre Elliott Trudeau: Let us [English Canadians] treat our minority not with equity, but with generosity as they have learned to do in other countries with minorities. ...

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