Description:The aim of this work is to examine the orientation of French speakers toward their standard or non-local language, as shown by their behaviour on different levels of linguistic analysis and in different speech styles. The volume also discusses the difficulties associated with applying terms such as "standard", "non-local", and "levelled" to the French language. Topics include: patterns of phonological variation; socio-stylistic variation in French phonology; grammatical variation; variable liaison; and variation in the French lexicon.