Sociolinguistic variation in southern French schwa

This article examines the different degrees to which young male and female speakers are apparently participating in a process of linguistic change cur rently taking place in southern French. Previous research suggests that you nger females in southern France are adopting the treatment of schwa charact eristic of the northern standard variety; but no study of linguistic change in southern French has yet been carried out through a direct, variationist comparison of young male and female speakers. We analyze here the linguist ic contexts in which schwa is most susceptible to penetration by the northe rn French norm. Much research on the differential treatment by male and fem ale speakers of variable linguistic forms that has shown that young males t end to resist the introduction of supraregional linguistic forms, while fem ales adopt them. As well as discussing new evidence on a French-specific re search issue, we also examine the cross linguistic significance of the Fren ch findings. further, we attempt to shed new light on the behavior of male and female speakers in relation to national and regional linguistic forms, and to reconsider some issues associated with the definition of standard la nguages.