Cover not available
Article published In:
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
References (34)
References
Ahmad, M. (1993). Vingt heures de français parlé… Aspects phonétiques de liaison. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Université Stendhal Grenoble 3, France.Google Scholar
Anderson, J. R. (1983). The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Andreassen, H. N., & Lyche, C. (2015). Enchaînement, liaison, accentuation chez les apprenants norvégophones. Bulletin VALS-ASLA, 1021, 105–121. Retrieved from [URL]
Barreca, G. (2015). L’acquisition de la liaison chez des apprenants italophones: des atouts d’un corpus de natifs pour l’étude de la liaison en français langue étrangère (FLE). PhD dissertation. Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore Milan, Italy / Université Paris Ouest, France. Retrieved from [URL]
Bybee, J. (2001). Frequency effects on French liaison. In J. Bybee & P. Hopper (Eds.), Frequency and the emergence of linguistic structure (pp. 337–359). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010). Language, usage and cognition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chabanal, D., & Liégeois, L. (2014). Production de liaisons dans l’input parental. In C. Soum-Favaro, A. Coquillon & J.-P. Chevrot (Eds.), La liaison: approches contemporaines (pp. 263–282). Berne: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Chevrot, J.-P., Dugua, C., & Fayol, M. (2009). Liaison acquisition, word segmentation and construction in French: A usage-based account. Journal of Child Language, 361, 557–596. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chevrot, J.-P., Dugua, C., Harnois-Delpiano, M., Siccardi, A., & Spinelli, E. (2013). Liaison acquisition: Debates, critical issues, future research. Language Sciences, 391, 83–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Clements, G. N., & Keyser, S. J. (1983). CV Phonology. A generative theory of the syllabe. (Linguistic Inquiry Monograph). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from [URL]
Delattre, P. (1947). La liaison en français, tendances et classification. The French Review, 21(2), 148–157. Retrieved from [URL]
Detey, S., Kawaguchi, Y., & Kondo, N. (2015). La liaison chez les apprenants japonophones avancés de FLE. Bulletin VALS-ASLA, 1021, 123–145. Retrieved from [URL]Google Scholar
Durand, J., Laks, B., Calderone, B., & Tchobanov, A. (2011). Que savons-nous de la liaison aujourd’hui ? Langue française 169(1), 103–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R. (2005). Principles of instructed language learning. System, 331, 209–224. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Encrevé, P. (1988). La liaison avec et sans enchaînement. Paris: Seuil.Google Scholar
Gadet, F. (2007). La variation sociale en français. Paris: Ophrys.Google Scholar
Gautier, R. (2016). Développement des réseaux personnels et de la compétence sociolinguistique lors de séjours d’étude d’apprenants de FLE américains et chinois. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Université Grenoble Alpes, France.Google Scholar
Han, M. H. (2011). Fautes de prononciation des Coréens apprenant le français et correction phonétique. Synergies Corée, 21, 73–82. Retrieved from [URL]
Harnois-Delpiano, M. (2016). Le kaléidoscope de la liaison en français: Etude comparée de son appropriation par des apprenants adultes de FLE et des enfants natifs. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Université Grenoble Alpes, France. Retrieved from [URL]
Howard, M. (2013). La liaison en français langue seconde, une étude longitudinale préliminaire. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 4(2), 190–231. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leroy, S., Parisse, C., & Maillart, C. (2009). Les difficultés morphosyntaxiques des enfants présentant des troubles spécifiques du langage oral: Une approche constructiviste. Rééducation Orthophonique, 47(238), 21–45.Google Scholar
Liégeois, L. (2014). Usage des variables phonologiques dans un corpus d’interactions naturelles parents-enfant: Impact du bain linguistique et dispositifs cognitifs d’apprentissage. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Université Blaise Pascal – Clermont-Ferrand II, France. Retrieved from [URL]
Mallet, G. (2008). La liaison en français : Descriptions et analyses dans le corpus PFC. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Université Paris Ouest, France.Google Scholar
Nicoladis, E., & Paradis, J. (2011). Learning to liaise and elide comme il faut: Evidence from bilingual children. Journal of Child Language, 38(4), 701–730. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Racine, I. (2014). Une approche par corpus de la liaison chez les apprenants hispanophones de français langue étrangère: Quelles conséquences pour l’enseignement du FLE ? Flambeau, 401 (Revue annuelle de la section française, Université des Langues Étrangères de Tokyo), 18–37.Google Scholar
(2015). La liaison chez les apprenants hispanophones avancés de FLE. Bulletin VALS-ASLA, 1021, 147–167. Retrieved from [URL]
Racine, I., & Detey, S. (2015). Corpus oraux, liaison et locuteurs non-natifs: de la recherche en phonologie à l’enseignement du français langue étrangère. Bulletin VALS-ASLA, 1021, 1–25.Google Scholar
Thomas, A. (2004). Phonetic norm versus usage in advanced French as a second language. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching (IRAL), 42(4), 365–382. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
van Compernolle, R. A. (2013). Concept appropriation and the emergence of L2 sociostylistic variation. Language Teaching Research, online (1 May 2013). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Véronique, D., Carlo, C., Granget, C., Kim, J.-O., & Prodeau, M. (2009). L’acquisition de la grammaire du français, langue étrangère. Paris: Didier.Google Scholar
Wauquier, S. (2009). Acquisition de la liaison en L1 et L2: stratégies phonologiques ou lexicales ? Acquisition et Interaction en Langue Etrangère, Aile… Lia, 21, 93–130. Retrieved from [URL]
Wauquier, S., & Shoemaker, E. (2013). Convergence and divergence in the acquisition of French liaison by native and non-native speakers. Language, Interaction, and Acquisition, 4(2), 161–189. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by (5)

Cited by five other publications

Heiszenberger, Elisabeth
2023. Le rôle de l’usage dans l’acquisition de la liaison : production et perception d’élèves franco-germanophones bilingues. Langue française N° 219:3 ► pp. 65 ff. DOI logo
Heiszenberger, Elisabeth, Marc Chalier, Léa Courdès-Murphy, Elissa Pustka, F. Neveu, S. Prévost, A. Steuckardt, G. Bergounioux & B. Hamma
2022. David contre Goliath : la liaison chez les élèves de FLE face à celle des présentateurs de télévision. SHS Web of Conferences 138 ► pp. 08003 ff. DOI logo
Heiszenberger, Elisabeth, Léa Courdès-Murphy, Luise Jansen, Elissa Pustka, F. Neveu, B. Harmegnies, L. Hriba, S. Prévost & A. Steuckardt
2020. Le cas de la liaison après les formes des verbes être et avoir chez des adolescents autrichiens apprenant le FLE. SHS Web of Conferences 78 ► pp. 07020 ff. DOI logo
Splendido, Frida
2019. The development of obligatory liaison in early L2 learners of French. Language, Interaction and Acquisition. Langage, Interaction et Acquisition 10:1 ► pp. 71 ff. DOI logo
Ågren, Malin & Joost van de Weijer
2019. The production of preverbal liaison in Swedish learners of L2 French. Language, Interaction and Acquisition. Langage, Interaction et Acquisition 10:1 ► pp. 117 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.