This thesis analyzes elements which contribute to the construction of the artistic identity of the Acadian rap artist Jacobus. Nowadays, many artists perform on the local and international stages from musical, social or linguistic margins. Their success is due to the democratization of production and music broadcasting tools. As this phenomenon becomes more and more common and popular, “marginal” artists and their communities blur the lines between the mainstream and the underground, by the means of performing in their vernacular and promoting these authentic language practices. Jacobus sings in Acadjonne, a variety of Acadian French spoken in la Baie Sainte-Marie, Nova Scotia. By singing in his vernacular, consciously or not, he claims his Acadian identity, as other artists do so with Chiac, another variety of Acadian French (for example, Lisa LeBlanc and Les Hay Babies). Jacobus, as other artists, claims and proclaims his Acadian identity while promoting his vernacular, which has provoked controversial discussions in the media. Through his songs, the artist destroys the stereotypes of rap music. At the same time, he transgresses the linguistics norms by choosing the linguistic minority over the proper, standard French. In this thesis, I analyze the songs from Jacobus’ two solo albums and various aspects of his songs that contribute to the construction of a “marginalized” and authentic artistic identity. This research shows that the artist’s linguistic practices and the fact that he brings the Acadjonne variety on the Québécois, Canadian or even global stages, contribute to the construction of his authentic identity, but also to the spreading of local varieties of French language, which goes against the linguistic imperialism of the ideology of the standard. This linguistic behaviour enhances the actual societal conversation about inclusion and diversity in Canada. / Graduate

This study examines the functions of the borrowed discourse marker (DM) whatever in Chiac, an Acadian French dialect spoken in the southeastern region of New Brunswick (Canada). Analyzing data from two relatively homogenous corpora, a detailed description of the properties of whatever in its most frequent role, that of an approximation marker, is provided. In this role, it can signal that the speaker is unable to recall a particular word or detail relating to previous content or mark indifference towards the accuracy of the statement. When whatever marks a forgotten element, it is often preceded or followed by a sign of hesitation or is followed by a reformulation which clarifies what the speaker intended to say. This contrasts with the use of whatever to mark imprecision. This research uses contextual clues to differentiate various usages of whatever, and as such, it offers a methodology for the analysis of the polyvalent DM whatever. / Graduate

Le chiac est une variété de français parlé dans le sud-est du Nouveau-Brunswick marqué notamment par le mélange de codes avec l’anglais. Perrot (1995) a été la première à en faire une description approfondie. Non seulement les attitudes vis-à-vis du chiac sont variées parmi ses locuteurs, mais il s’avère que les représentations de ses mêmes locuteurs sur ce qu’est ou n’est pas le chiac formellement, leurs conceptions méta-linguistiques en somme de celui-ci divergent grandement. En effet, cette variété a la particularité d’être nommée ce qui lui donne la capacité d’être appréhendée et mobilisée aisément par les locuteurs autant que par les chercheurs (Boudreau 2012). À vrai dire, le chiac ne serait pas particulièrement différent des autres variétés de français en situation minoritaire dans les Maritimes (King 2008). Cependant, sa nomination ne semble pas suffire à le décrire précisément puisque la définition donnée au chiac n’est pas la même pour tous. Qu’est-ce qu’est le chiac selon ses locuteurs ? Comment expliquer l’apparente multitude de définitions pour un seul et même terme ? Quelles sont les pratiques linguistiques auxquelles on attribue le nom de chiac ? Qui parle chiac et dans quelles situations ? Qu’est-ce que ces processus discursifs de nomination de leur langue révèlent sur les représentations que se font les Acadiens et les Acadiennes de leur langue ? Les données de cette recherche ont été récoltées principalement à l’aide d’entretiens semi-dirigés et de notes prises lors d’observation participante dans des activités de la vie quotidienne à Moncton au Nouveau-Brunswick. / Chiac is a variety of French spoken in southeastern New-Brunswick. It is marked by its code-mixing with English because its speakers live in close relationship with the English-speaking majority of the region. Perrot was the first to describe Chiac linguistic structure in 1995. Not only are attitudes towards Chiac varied among its speakers, but it appears that the representations of its speakers, their meta-linguistic conceptions of Chiac, diverge greatly. Indeed, this variety has the particularity of being named, which gives it the capacity to be easily apprehended and mobilized by speakers as well as researchers (Boudreau 2012). In fact, chiac would not be particularly different from other varieties of French in a minority situation in the Maritimes (King 2008). However, its name does not seem to be sufficient to describe it precisely since the definition given to chiac is not the same for everyone. What is Chiac according to its speakers? Why are there multiple definitions for one and the same term? What linguistic practices are attributed to the name Chiac? Who speaks Chiac and in what situations? What do these discursive processes of naming their language reveal about Acadians' representations of their language? The data for this research was collected primarily through semi-structured interviews and notes taken during participant observation in activities of daily life in Moncton, New Brunswick.