Revolutionary Bars: How Code-Switching in Quebecois Rap Has Challenged Language Ideologies

Abstract

Quebec’s relationship to the ‘proper’ use of the French language and concerns regarding its preservation have been an ongoing talking point in the public sphere. The growing popularity of hip-hop culture, especially rap, has had a notable impact on Quebec linguistic identities. This paper focusses on how code-switching used in Quebec rap has led to the construction of hybrid identities and challenged Quebec’s strict norms and ideals surrounding the ‘proper’ use of the French language. By drawing on the impacts of Bill 101 to demonstrate how the origins of the rigid language identities of Quebec came to be, showing the impacts it’s had on the visibility of multicultural Montreal. A linguistic analysis is also conducted, highlighting the use of code-switching in two songs by artist Sans Pression. Through rap, I argue, Quebec’s strict and rigid language ideology are challenged and reshaped, creating a space where minorities can express their own meanings of what being Quebecois entails.