Becoming a speaker of German as an L1 French speaker: elite multilingualism as a means of distinction in a globalised world

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the relationship between language ideologies, elite multilingualism, and the identity of migrants with a focus on L2 speakers of German. Relying on interviews with the Francophone community in Berlin, I show that two main language ideologies circulate: ‘language as a skill’ vs ‘language as an identity marker’. While these ideologies may seem opposite, I argue that both are in fact shaped by dominant language ideologies around German being hard to learn. Even if the argumentation differs, in both cases, becoming a speaker of German enables the interviewees to profile themselves as different from other non German-speaking communities. Both ideologies are a reaction to English as a dominant language that can be traced back to early metadiscourses on foreign language learning in French schools. Ultimately, I suggest that both positions correspond to elite multilingualism in which learning and using German works as a means of distinction in a globalised world.

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