Écritures de femmes déclarant ne pas écrire. Quatre femmes latino-américaines à Paris

In the process of gathering their life stories, migrant women interviewed talked about their daily relationship to writing which is complex, revealing sometimes strong contradictions between discourses and practices. These practices, among which the learning of French language, are specific and differ from those usually observed among more literate people in France. In that way, they appear as specific adjustment of expected literacy standards. This might explain why those people tend to mistrust their own practices, showing how the adoption of dominant social norms can be strong. This raises the question of the relevance of categories such as – “illiterate”, “lacking formal education”, “slightly literate” to qualify people who make daily and diversified uses of the written language. What norms, restrictions and idealisations are at work in this discredit put on ordinary knowledge? What are the prospects for learning?