Our Faculty

Background

Yulia Bosworth is a sociolinguist who specializes in Quebec French and its linguistic, socio-political and cultural context. Her work is broadly aimed at the study of the relationship between the French language and Quebec identity, language attitudes and ideologies, and linguistic insecurity in Quebec and the larger Francophonie. 

She is especially interested in phonological variation in national and regional varieties of French and accent discrimination in the context of variation, with an emphasis on speakers of Quebec French and questions related to the local, Quebec-based linguistic norm, distinct from the Hexagonal standard. A central theme of her investigations is the perception of Quebec French in and outside Quebec, particularly in France and the United States. Bosworth’s research has benefited from the support of the Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie of the Government of Quebec.

Bosworth’s teaching also reflects her focus on Quebec. A number of her courses are primarily or partially centered on fostering understanding and appreciation of Quebec and its linguistic and cultural contributions to the Francophonie and beyond.

Bosworth is president of the American Council for Québec Studies and vice president/president-elect of the Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States.

Selected Publications

• “Molière amoché”: Discourse on the Quality of English-speaking Canadian Politicians’ French in Canadian News Media Coverage of the 2020 Conservative Leadership Debate. Language and Communication 90: 52-62 (2023) doi.org/10.1016/j.langcom.2023.03.002
• “Les gens qui vous ressemblent”: Discursive Negotiation of Identity and Construction of Affiliation in the 2019 Canadian Federal Election Party Leader Debates. Québec Studies 72: 5-32 (Winter 2022) doi.org/10.3828/qs.2021.15
• “The “Bad” French of Justin Trudeau: When Language, Ideology and Politics Collide.” Scholars, Missionaries, and Counter-Imperialists: The American Review of Canadian Studies. The American Review of Canadian Studies, 1971-2021, edited by Andrew C. Holeman and Brian Payne, 188-216. Oxon and New York: Routledge (2022) doi.org/10.1080/02722011.2019.1570954
• “French is Growing, We are Declining!”: English-speaking Quebecers’ Discursive Construction of Identity and Belonging in the Context of the 2018 Provincial Election English-language Party Leader Debates. Journal of Eastern Townships Studies 49: 27-47 (2021) https://umaine.edu/canam/wpcon...
• “Those People Who Chose Us”: Discursive Construction of Identity and Belonging in the Context of Quebec’s 2018 Provincial Elections. Discourse and Society 32(2): 135-155 (2021) doi.org/10.1177/0957926520970381

Education

• Ph.D. French Linguistics, University of Texas-Austin
• M.A. French, University of Arkansas
• B.A. Political Science; B.A. French, University of Arkansas

Research Interests

• Quebec French

• Quebec identity; Quebec society and national culture

• Language attitudes and ideologies; linguistic discrimination (especially accent discrimination) and insecurity in the Francophonie

• Discourse on language in Quebec and Canada (journalistic, political, public figures)

• Critical Discourse Analysis, Corpus-Assisted Discourse Studies

Teaching Interests

• French linguistics/sociolinguistics (Introduction to French Linguistics, French Phonetics and Pronunciation, Sounds and Structures of Spoken French)

• Quebec: language, society and culture (Understanding Contemporary Quebec, in collaboration with École de langues à l’Université Laval, summer course in Quebec City, Quebec)

• North American French/Quebec French sociolinguistics (French in North America)

Awards

• Harpur College Teaching Award, Binghamton University, 2022
• Rufus J. Smith Award for Best Article in the American Review of Canadian Studies for 2017-2019, The Association of Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS), 2019

Related News Stories

• Deux solitudes: Understanding the divide between French- and English-speaking Canada