Chapter published in:
Sociolinguistic Variation and Language Acquisition across the Lifespan
Edited by Anna Ghimenton, Aurélie Nardy and Jean-Pierre Chevrot
[Studies in Language Variation 26] 2021
► pp. 227–250

Chapter 10
Usage, evaluation and awareness of French sociolinguistic variables by second-language learners during a stay abroad

The case of negative ne and optional liaison

| Université de Grenoble-Alpes
| Université de Grenoble-Alpes
This chapter deals with the acquisition of two sociolinguistic variables of twenty-nine American and Chinese learners of French. The purpose is to track the production and evaluation of the optional liaison and the variable deletion of negative ne during a 9-month stay abroad (SA) and to take a close look at the differences between the two sociolinguistic variables during the course of acquisition. We also aim to understand whether evaluation and awareness of the usage of these variables could influence the learners’ production. Statistical analyses show that the use of formal variants by the learners declined significantly during their SA. Moreover, acquisition of the ne variable seems guided by awareness of its sociolinguistic value, whereas acquisition of optional liaison appears to be driven by exposure to input and item-based learning.
Keywords: study abroad, sociolinguistic competence, sociolinguistic usage, sociolinguistic awareness and evaluation
Article outline
  • 1.Sociolinguistic variation in second language research
  • 2.Sociolinguistic variables in second language classroom and textbooks
  • 3.Awareness and evaluation of sociolinguistic variants
  • 4.Purpose of the study
  • 5.Methodology
    • a.Participants
    • b.Sociolinguistic variables
      • Optional liaison
      • Negative ne
    • c.Sociolinguistic interviews
    • d.Judgement tasks for the two variables
    • e.Questionnaire on sociolinguistic variables
  • 6.Results
    • a.Optional liaison
    • b.Negative ne
    • c.Evolution of judgements from T1 to T3
  • 7.Conclusion and discussion
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
Published online: 16 August 2021
https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.26.10gau
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