This fifth colloquium represents a continuation of its predecessors in that it attempts to achieve a better understanding of the numerous features linking the forms of French spoken and written in Canada and France respectively. The overall theme in this case was ‘Language Contact’ with special reference to the history of the contacts in question. Each of the 19 contributions assembled here addresses both the historical and the linguistic aspects of the contact phenomena they deal with. The articles are divided into two main sections, those centering on the relations between the various forms of French used in Canada and France, and those concentrating on the various forms of French found in Canada and their contacts with other languages.