 How I Chose my PRP Topic: The Research Questions  Literature Review › What is “la francophonie” and who is Francophone in Ontario?  Research Design  Findings: Four participants’ biographies

 What does speaking French mean to me in the context of social work practice? “One language, diverse cultures, one community”…? Are these ideas present in social work settings? Whose interests do they serve?

 How do social workers’ linguistic biographies (citation) influence how they understand the idea of la francophonie and how does it influence their social work practice?  What has influenced the development of linguistic alliances in their lives? How have these linguistic alliances shifted? Do they experience linguistic alliances in their work in mainstream francophone organizations in Toronto, or not?  How do complexities related to intersections of language, race, and other social locations manifest themselves in their work with clients?

 Two definitions: › The French-speaking world in general › The association of countries that participate in the organization of the Francophonie Internationale  Statistic Canada definition of Francophone: mother tongue criteria, defined as first language learned at home and still understood (Madibbo, 2006)

 Social work is a language-centered activity  Harrison (2007): three approaches to language in social work: › Language as a problem › Language as a right › Language as a resource

“Language does not function separately as a discrete social phenomenon but is embedded in complex relations with race, gender, immigration, and power. Language is the socio-political mobilizer that brings all Francophones together. Race—and class—create distinctions within the linguistic minority (…) As language unites, it also divides” (Madibbo, 2006, p. 141)

 French and English are often ethnically- defined, contrasted to the multicultural other (Mackey, 2010; Gallant & Belkhodja, 2005)  Institutional nationalism (Heller, 2006)  Linguistic ideology (Heller, 2006)  “Who is Franco-Ontarian, what is French, and who gets to decide are all key questions at the moment” (Heller, 1999, p. 342)  White Francophones have replicated oppression in their own struggle for language rights (Madibbo, 2006)

 How does the powerful discourse on Francophone language rights and the importance of accessing services in one’s language obscure the racism of the francophone community?  How can we at once recognize the importance of services in French and emotional/relational importance of language without “rescuing” an ideology of la francophonie that replicates dominance and racism?  How can Francophones in Toronto actively work towards a more socially just and anti-racist francophone/multilingual community that does not necessarily rely on a solid and fixed linguistic identity?  What is at stake in reimagining the francophone community as multilingual?  How can all these communities’ agendas coexist and be given equal importance within organization?

 Methodology: interviews › 4 semi-structured interviews › Goal of questioning the metanarrative of the Franco-Ontarian community in context of Toronto › Goals of seeking out diversity of voices that may not have commonalities › Interested in the meaning that participants attribute to their experiences as francophone social workers, and the stories that shape the meaning they attribute to their experiences › Critical approach: How is language related to power and inequality?

 Work as social workers or in a related position  Work in French in Ontario  And who have learned French through a diversity of pathways: either within Canada or in another country of la francophonie

 Narrative analysis  Linguistic biographies look at the relationship of speakers to their languages, how they were acquired, used, and abandoned (Pavlenko, 2008)  Riesmann (2005): For whom was the story constructed, how was it made, and for what purpose? What cultural resources does it draw on--take for granted? What does it accomplish? Are there gaps and inconsistencies that might suggest alternative counter-narratives?” (p. 393)

 Strong investments in French language rights  Different explanations for investments  Theme of ‘diversity’ was elicited by all participants

“So with my son I speak French as well, but he knows that is some way it’s a privilege. Because in my group of friends, among his friends, for the most-part also people from my region, Ethiopians, Hararis like me, there’s practically no kids that go to French schools, or who speak French, because as I told you, it’s very privileged to have French. So my son has already understood this, he has already understood and he expresses this around him. Like when he is with my friends’ kids, with his cousins, he tells them “ah, I speak French”. He has already understood, how can I say, that it’s a certain privilege for him. So I’m very happy that he has a positive attitude towards French.”

“But after that, Francophone Canadian identity, what does that mean today, that’s the big question! That’s the really big question! Because I say, today I am Canadian, I have Canadian children, I have been in Canada for ten years, I have a Canadian passport. It’s true that I have my origins that I will never renounce, but Canada is the country in which I have chosen to live. So I tell myself that I am the example of a Canadian Francophone, so I would like to be included in that image, in that Canadian context. You see, I’m a woman, with my own contexts, like I’m a Muslim woman, who is from Ethiopia, a black woman, and I want that to be included in Canadian identity. It’s very important, it’s close to my heart. And I think, I think that Canada is starting to respond to all of that.”

“There’s always people who say “Oh, you speak Spanish!”. There are some who do it through humor, and it’s always the conversation of “yes, I come from Mexico, blah blah blah”. But there’s also people who do it a more mean way. It happened to me in Quebec, in Montreal, that when you tried to communicate with someone, they wouldn’t make any effort at all to understand you. At first when you are trying to learn a language, of course you can’t find the words, and it’s not easy to express yourself. For the most part people didn’t have the patience to try to understand.”

“Unfortunately, no. I think we need more education on this topic, because when you hear francophone, you don’t think that they are speaking to you. So even if you speak French….if it’s a person for who it isn’t their mother tongue...That’s why I say that we need to do more education on this topic, that the concept needs to be widened, so that now just the fact of speaking French means that you are francophone. That’s why I don’t think I have a sense of belonging. “

“Do I really have a feeling of belonging to this community? No, because I don’t really recognize myself through all of this. I am going to remain Québécoise; I am going to remain Canadian. I think that I can much more easily feel at home with anglophones than with the francophone community.”

“It touches many communities, and we can have a bit debate, a bigger conversation instead of always having the same people fighting for the same thing. The message gets lost when it’s always the same people. “