All Mixed: Canadian Metis Sociolinguistic Patterns. Working Papers in Sociolinguistics No. 101.

The 75 Metis of Mission Metis, Alberta, exhibit three general types of linguistic behavior according to age. Traditional Metis, over 50, are trilingual in English, French, and Cree. Those aged 30-50 speak English and some Cree and understand but do not speak French. Those under 30 speak English. The Mission Metis English and Cree are not exceptional but the French is idiosyncratic as seen in the affrication of dental stops, vowel raising, treatment of gender, and expression of possession. The idiosyncracies suggest the existence of discrete sociolinguistic niches along a continuum characterizing lifestyle and social aspirations, as illustrated by three linguistic case histories. Traditional Metis use French and Cree as personal codes and English as a transactional code. However, they attach no prestige to any language and apparently have no favorite, thus accepting trilingualism as the basis of their identity. Their speech events take place most commonly at home and in the bush. Traditional Metis frequently demonstrate code-switching and code-mixing, especially at the morphological level, as illustrated in three narratives. Despite parallels, Mission Metis people are different from Cajuns. Their education should stress literacy and cultural maintenance through traditional skills, bodily expression, and oral narratives. (SB)