Language Situation and Language Policy in the Canadian Province of New Brunswick

The analysis of sociolinguistic situation in the Canadian province of New Brunswick is offered in the article. The history of the settlement of this territory by representatives of different linguistic cultures — the French and the British — is considered. An overview of the demo linguistic situation in the province is given. The statistical data of the latest population censuses are presented. Particular attention is paid to the use of the minority French language in various social and communicative spheres in New Brunswick at the present stage: in the legislative and executive branches, in the main sphere of the language functioning — in the sphere of education, in the spheres of services, trade and the media. The author dwells on the problem of variation of the Acadian French language in a situation of institutional bilingualism, when the French language is constantly under the influence of the dominant English language. The relevance of the article is due to the attention of the Russian and world community to the position of minority languages in a multilingual society and the problem of their preservation. The novelty of the research is seen in the fact that the ongoing language policy is considered simultaneously with the analysis of existing laws on language, since only adopted laws can allow members of the linguistic minority to assert and defend their rights.