Sing it Yourself! Uses and representations of the English language in French popular and underground music

This article aims to show how French underground and local bands used the English language in their music. Seen as a hegemonic language in economy and pop culture, English, however, remained appropriated in a very subjective, negotiated and intimate way. For French bands, this appropriation was enhanced by anthropologic elements such as loud technology and group impact, and revealed a contentious relationship with the French language and culture, as well as with the French mainstream market. The language choice then had and still has a strong impact on a band’s career, creation and production process. Besides, if bands have used English as a tool to draw the public’s attention to the music more than to the lyrics, it has also been a way to renegotiate the traditional French identity, implying gender and race issues.