Vol. 56 No. 2 (2008)
Research Article

Assimilation of French-Canadian Names into New England Speech: Notes from a Vermont Cemetery

Published 2008-06-01

Abstract

Abstract

Headstones in St Mary's Cemetery in Middlebury, Vermont, and entries in the marriage repertoire of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the same town illustrate patterns of Canadian French accommodation to New England phonology as French-speaking immigrants established themselves there, as well as French-Canadian adaptation to New England identity and the social motivations for allowing given and family names to mark cultural assimilation and, alternatively, resisting change of name as such a marker.

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