Sociolinguistics and history

What is it about?

This article reflects on the interest that historical sociolinguists and historians share in language use and language choice in bilingual or multilingual communities. It illustrates the point with reference to the social, political, cultural, and literary functions of the French language in pre-revolutionary Russia. It then explores the role of discourse about language in grand narratives about the history and culture of the Russian national community.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

It summarizes the interdisciplinary significance of an unprecedently extensive investigation of the history of the French language in Russia of which I am the lead author (Derek Offord, Vladislav Rjéoutski, and Gesine Argent, The French Language in Russia: A Social, Cultural, Political, and Literary History, published by Amsterdam University Press in 2018).