ANTH 212: Elements of Ethnolinguistics

Winter 2014
Rene Lambert-Brtire


Ethnographic assignment

Interview sheet: questions sample



GENERAL QUESTIONS
What is your name?
How old are you?
Are you born in Quebec/Canada?
When did you immigrate in Quebec/Canada?
When did your parents immigrate in Quebec/Canada?
Did you live in other provinces before coming to live in Quebec?
Did you immigrate by yourself?
Did you know someone in Quebec when you arrived?
Why did you choose to live in Quebec/Canada?
In which neighbourhood do you live? Did you ever live in other neighbourhoods?
Do you live with your family? With friends?
Do you have contacts with your neighbours? And in the previous neighbourhoods?
Which language do you use to communicate with your neighbours?
Which language(s) is (are) used in your neighbourhood?
Did you have problems to adapt to your new life?
RELATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY AND ITS LINGUISTIC PRACTICES:
Do you speak English? French?
What is your first language? Is it the language you speak the best?
Where did you learn to speak English? French?
And your first language, which whom did you learn it? Do you know how to read and
write in your first language?
Which language did you speak at home when you were a child?
Which language do you speak with your mother? Your father? Your brothers and
sisters? Your grand-parents? Your cousins?
ANTH 212: Elements of Ethnolinguistics
Winter 2014
Rene Lambert-Brtire

2

Is everyone bilingual in your family? What are the languages spoken by the other
persons in your family?
Which language is used the most by the other members of your family? In which
contexts do they use English? French? Your first language?
And your friends? Which language(s) do they use and in which contexts?
In your community, which language is used the most? In which contexts?
Do you speak other languages?
Where do your friends come from?
In which language you and your friends communicate?
How do you keep in touch with your friends the most? Phone (voice)? Text messages?
Emails? What about with your friends in Montreal? And with your friends form
elsewhere?
Do you have a partner? Which language does she/he speak? She/he is from which
ethnolinguistic community?
Are interethnic relationships frequent inside your community?
When you were little, did you have Francophone friends? Anglophone? Allophone?
Did you have a Francophone, Anglophone or Allophone carer?
WORK:
Do both of your parents work? What do they do?
Do they work in English or in French?
What was your first job?
Did you have other jobs?
For how long you had the job you have now?
Do you think that the language you learnt at school (English or French) is useful for your
work?
Do you notice a difference between the languages spoken by the Quebecers (French or
English) in comparison with what youve learned?
What are your projects for the future?
Did you ever think of leaving Quebec for work?
Among your friends or family, are there some who left Quebec/Canada?


ANTH 212: Elements of Ethnolinguistics
Winter 2014
Rene Lambert-Brtire

3

STUDIES:
Where did you get your degree: in Canada or elsewhere?
Did you already know English/French before immigrating to Canada?
In Quebec, did you study in French or in English?
Your classmates were Francophones, Anglophones, Allophones, or speaking the same
first language as you?
Where did you go for primary school? Was it a public, private or immersion school?
French or English?
The other kids were mainly speaking French, English, or another language?
Which language did you speak with your classmates in the school yard?
Did your siblings go to the same school as you? If not, where?
Where did you go for secondary school? Was it a public, private or immersion school?
French or English?
Which higher studies did you do? Where? In French or in English?
What do you think of the language lessons you received in school?
CULTURE AND LEISURE:
What type of music do you listen to?
Do you prefer music in English or in French? Do you listen to music in other languages?
Do you listen to radio in English, French or in your first language?
Do you go out often? Where? Did you go out when you were younger?
When you go out, you speak mostly in English or in French with the other customers?
Do you often go to the movies?
What type of movie do you prefer?
Do you prefer movies in French or in English?
If you watch a movie in English/French, would you like it to be with subtitles?
Do you often watch movies in their original version?
Do you watch television in English/French?
Do you recall watching television in English/French when you were younger?
Do you often go to restaurants? What type of food do you like?
When you go to the restaurant, you like to be served in English, French, in another
language?
Do you practice a sport? Which one? With who?
ANTH 212: Elements of Ethnolinguistics
Winter 2014
Rene Lambert-Brtire

4

INTERCULTURAL INTERACTIONS / LINGUISTIC ATTITUDES
Do you have French speaking friends? English speaking friends?
Are some of your friends coming from another country and speaking another language?
Did you witness problems between Anglophones and Francophones in Montreal?
Do you think English and French are needed to work in Montreal? Are there any other
languages that you would consider useful as well?
Are there contexts or occasions where you speak other languages then English or
French?
In public areas or stores, do you prefer to be talked to in English or in French?
What do you think of the linguistic situation in Quebec at the moment?
Do you think that learning French is essential for new immigrants?