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French liaison in second language acquisition / La liaison en français langue étrangère: Issues, methods and perspectives / Thèmes, méthodes et perspectives
Edited by Martin Howard and Malin Ågren
[Language, Interaction and Acquisition 10:1] 2019
► pp. 45–70

Comparing French liaison acquisition in L1 children and L2 adults

Methodological issues in exploring differences and similarities

| Université Grenoble-Alpes
| Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III
| Université Grenoble-Alpes

In the study of liaison acquisition, a key line of inquiry has focused on potential differences and similarities between L1 and L2 French speakers. However, such a comparison encounters a number of difficulties such as matching learners in terms of language exposure, age, and learning abilities. This study addresses these issues based on the analysis of French liaison in a series of experimental tasks performed by L1 children aged two to six, and by adult Korean learners of French as a foreign language. Results show that, for both groups, acquisition of categorical liaison precedes acquisition of variable liaison. However, when L1 and L2 learners are matched individually based on the results of a production task, they differ in a judgment task involving the perception of liaison. More specifically, the ability to judge the correctness of liaison precedes the ability to produce it in L2 learners, but not in L1 children. The findings provide a strong indication that L2 learners follow a specific process when acquiring liaison.

Keywords: categorical liaison, variable liaison, comparative study, first language acquisition, second language acquisition, French as a Foreign Language, Korean learners, sociolinguistic variation, usage frequency
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Acquisition of liaison in L1 and L2 French
    • 2.1Acquisition of L1 and L2 French: Different linguistic and sociolinguistic contexts
    • 2.2Liaison acquisition models in L1 and L2
    • 2.3The current study
  • 3.Method
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2The experimental tasks
    • 3.3Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Intra-group quantitative comparisons and inter-group qualitative comparisons
      • 4.1.1General pattern of evolution curves for categorical liaison production
      • 4.1.2General pattern of evolution curves for variable liaison production
      • 4.1.3Comparison of evolution curves for categorical and variable liaison production
      • 4.1.4Acceptability judgments for categorical and variable liaisons
    • 4.2Matches between L1 and L2 speakers
      • 4.2.1Categorical liaison: Matches based on production and comparison of omissions
      • 4.2.2Variable liaison: Matches based on production and comparison of substitutions
      • 4.2.3Categorical liaison: Matches based on production and comparison of judgments
      • 4.2.4Variable liaison: Matches based on production and comparison of judgments
  • 5.General discussion
    • 5.1Summary of results
      • 5.1.1Linguistic hypothesis
      • 5.1.2Sociolinguistic hypothesis
      • 5.1.3Psycholinguistic hypothesis
    • 5.2Appropriation of liaison in L2 French: Toward a model based on learning modes
    • 5.3Pedagogical prospects
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 16 May 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lia.17021.har
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