Vera Regan

Maîtriser la norme sociolinguistique en interlangue française: le cas de l'omission variable de ‘ne’

L’acquisition de la norme sociolinguistique francaise pose des problemes considerables aux locuteurs non-natifs. L’analyse de la variation dans l’omission du ne dans un corpus d’interlangue avancee de 27 apprenants neerlandophones interviewes dans une situation informelle et formelle confirme que l’instruction formelle est insuffisante pour la maitrise de la norme sociolinguistique native. Une majorite de locuteurs omettent le ne un peu moins souvent dans une situation formelle mais la variation va dans le sens oppose pour une minorite de locuteurs. L’observation et surtout la participation a des interactions authentiques avec des locuteurs natifs stimulent l’acquisition de la norme sociolinguistique. Une analyse statistique revele que differentes variables socio-biographiques, psychologiques et situationnelles determinent la variation intra- et interindividuelle dans les taux d’omission du ne.

The relationship between the group and the individual and the acquisition of native speaker variation patterns: A preliminary study

Abstract The relationship between group and individual has been explored within the variationist paradigm. In L1, group patterns of variation are replicated by the individual. Second language acquisition research is concerned with the individual learner, but second language acquisition variationist researchers tend to group learners. Little empirical evidence exists that such grouping is valid, given the importance of individual variation. This article investigates whether it is meaningful to group learners. This is a longitudinal, quantitative study of the acquisition of variation by Irish speakers of French L2 over three years, of which one is a year abroad experience. Participants are five advanced learners, twenty years old, with five years of French classes at secondary school and two at university. A computer (Varbrul) analysis shows similar patterns in group and individual, in the deletion of ne. Theoretical implications are that it is legitimate to apply group standards to individual speakers and that native speaker variation acquisition is linked to a prolonged stay in the native speaker community.

The L2 acquisition of a phonological variable: the case of /l/ deletion in French

This article is situated within the recent strand of SLA research which applies variationist sociolinguistic methods to the study of the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation by the L2 speaker. Whilst that research has tended to focus on the study of morphological and morphosyntactic variables, this article aims to investigate a number of acquisitional trends identified in previous research in relation to phonological variation, namely the variable deletion of /l/ by Irish advanced L2 speakers of French in both an instructed and study abroad environment. Based on quantitative results using GoldVarb 2001, the study further illuminates the difficulty that the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation poses to the instructed L2 speaker, who is found to make minimal use of informal sociolinguistic variants. In contrast, contact with native speakers in the native speech community is seen to allow the L2 speaker to make considerable sociolinguistic gains, not only in relation to the acquisition of the informal variant in itself, but also in relation to the underlying native speaker grammatical system as indicated by the constraint ordering at work behind use of the variable.

The New Kid on the Block

Ireland has experienced momentous change over the last 15 years, with a sharp reversal in its traditionally outward-migration patterns to a very rapid increase in inward-migration. Mac Einri and White have characterised Ireland’s experiences of migration as ‘unique, at least in European terms’ (2008: 153). This came to the fore towards the mid 1990s onwards when increased economic prosperity led to a skills shortage on the labour market and the concomitant inward migration led to rapid population diversification. This was particularly noticeable after the accession of ten new EU Member States, including Poland, on May 1st 2004.

TEACHING AND LEARNING IRISH IN PRIMARY SCHOOL: A REVIEW OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. John Harris and Lelia Murtagh. Dublin: Instituid Teangeolaiochta Eireann, 1999. Pp. 515. Ir £8 paper.

This volume is an extremely comprehensive research report. It speaks principally to language planning, language policy bodies, and curriculum development units in Ireland, as well as to teachers of Irish in primary schools. Although it targets a quite specific audience, it has many elements of interest to policymakers internationally, especially in relation to minority languages, and to researchers in SLA interested in areas such as bilingualism, immersion, the role of instruction, and input in the classroom.