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AbstractThis article argues for (l) as a sociolinguistic variable in Francoprovençal: (l) refers to variable palatalisation of /l/ in obstruent+lateral onset clusters (/kl, ɡl, pl, bl, fl/), a feature that has long been the subject of metalinguistic commentary, but no systematic analysis. Our data, which come from a larger study of Francoprovençal (FP), show significant intraspeaker variation. Sociolinguistic interviews were carried out in the Lyonnais region of France among 21 FP speakers with different acquisition routes. /l/-palatalisation is far from categorical in our sample, with increased rates of the French variant [l] over the traditional [j] variant. We interpret these data as contact-induced change: phonological leveling is underway, with convergence towards French. These findings are consistent with the language death literature, and are now widely reported in the context of other minority varieties spoken in the Hexagon. Conversely, somenew speakersshow different patterns with a greater range of palatalised variants. These findings add to a growing body of evidence that suggest laterals to be a locus for socio-indexical cues cross-linguistically.

AbstractWe review the current status of Francoprovençal (FP) in all regions where it is spoken. This article is the first of its kind, in that it reports on FP in both Europe and North America (for the latter this is the first demographic report). Figures cited for speaker numbers are therefore speculative. For each region, we present an overview of the linguistic history, current glottopolitical status of FP and demographic information. We describe each variety's vitality, using Brenzinger et al.'s (2003,Language vitality and endangerment. Paris: UNESCO Expert Meeting on Safeguarding Endangered Languages) UNESCO scale.