On the role of naturalistic and classroom exposure in the acquisition of socio-phonological variation
A longitudinal study of French liaison
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v5i2.159Keywords:
L2 acquisition, sociolinguistic variation, French liaison, advanced learner, learning context, study abroadAbstract
This paper is situated within the new wave of L2 studies which explores the learner’s acquisition of sociolinguistic variation. The study tracks the longitudinal development of liaison usage in relation to the potential differential impact of naturalistic vs classroom exposure conditions. Data for the study were collected at three intervals over a two-year period from Irish university learners, allowing for a dual analysis of their linguistic development during a year-long stay in France, and during their subsequent return to the foreign language classroom. Results point to the complexity of such development, whereby there is considerable individual variation, such that the heterogeneous exposure conditions in each environment seem to impact differentially the individual learners’ development.
References
Ashby, W. (1981) French liaison as a sociolinguistic phenomenon. In W. Cressey and D. Napoli (eds) Linguistics Symposium on Romance Languages, 46–57. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press.
Ashby, W. (2003) La liaison variable en français parlé tourangeau: une étude en temps réel. Paper presented at Annual Conference of the Association for French Language Studies, Tours (France).
Bybee, J. (2001) Frequency effects on French liaison. In J. Bybee and P. Hopper (eds) Frequency Effects and the Emergence of Linguistic Structures, 337–359. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Firth, A. and Wagner, J. (1997) On discourse, communication, and (some) fundamental concepts in SLA research. Modern Language Journal 81 (3): 285–300. doi:10.2307/329302
Gatbonton, E., Trofimovich, P. and Magid, M. (2005) Learners’ ethnic group affiliation and L2 pronunciation accuracy: A sociolinguistic investigation. TESOL Quarterly 39 (3): 489– 511. doi:10.2307/3588491
Gatbonton, E. and Trofimovich, P. (2008) The ethnic group affiliation and L2 proficiency link: Empirical evidence. Language Awareness 17 (3): 229–248.
Howard, M. (2006) Progression in second language learning: The case of the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation. In T. Harden, A. Witte and D. Köhler (eds) Progression in the Teaching and Learning of Foreign Languages, 353–375. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Howard, M., Lemée, I. and Regan, V. (2006) The L2 acquisition of a socio-phonetic variable: The case of /l/ deletion in French. Journal of French Language Studies 16 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1017/S0959269506002298
Labov, W. (1984) Field methods of the project on language change and variation. In W. Baugh and J. Scherzer (eds) Language in Use: Readings in Sociolinguistics, 28–53. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Lafford, B. (2006) The effects of study abroad vs. classroom contexts in Spanish SLA: Old assumptions, new insights and future directions. In C. Klee and T. Face (eds) Selected Proceedings of the 7th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as First and Second Languages, 1–25. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Mougeon, R., Nadasdi, T., Uritescu, D. and Rehner, K. (2001) A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Phonetic Variation in the Spoken French of Immersion Students. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Association for Applied Linguistics, Quebec City.
Mougeon, R., Nadasdi, T. and Rehner, K. (2010) The Sociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Regan V. (1995) The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms: Effects of a year abroad on second language learners of French. In B. Freed (ed.) Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context, 245–267. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Shoemaker, E. and Birdsong, D. (2008) La résolution de la liaison en français par des locuteurs natifs et non-natifs. Acquisition et interaction en langue étrangère 27: 43–62.
Tarone, E. (2007) Sociolinguistic approaches to second language acquisition research – 1997– 2007. Modern Language Journal 91 (5): 837–848. doi:10.1111/j.0026-7902.2007.00672.x
Thomas, A. (2002) La variation phonétique en français langue seconde au niveau universitaire avancé. Acquisition et interaction en langue étrangère 17: 101–121.
Tremblay, A. (2009) Processing liaison-initial words in native and non-native French: Evidence from eye movements. Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association, 156–159. Tokyo: Interspeech.
Ashby, W. (2003) La liaison variable en français parlé tourangeau: une étude en temps réel. Paper presented at Annual Conference of the Association for French Language Studies, Tours (France).
Bybee, J. (2001) Frequency effects on French liaison. In J. Bybee and P. Hopper (eds) Frequency Effects and the Emergence of Linguistic Structures, 337–359. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Firth, A. and Wagner, J. (1997) On discourse, communication, and (some) fundamental concepts in SLA research. Modern Language Journal 81 (3): 285–300. doi:10.2307/329302
Gatbonton, E., Trofimovich, P. and Magid, M. (2005) Learners’ ethnic group affiliation and L2 pronunciation accuracy: A sociolinguistic investigation. TESOL Quarterly 39 (3): 489– 511. doi:10.2307/3588491
Gatbonton, E. and Trofimovich, P. (2008) The ethnic group affiliation and L2 proficiency link: Empirical evidence. Language Awareness 17 (3): 229–248.
Howard, M. (2006) Progression in second language learning: The case of the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation. In T. Harden, A. Witte and D. Köhler (eds) Progression in the Teaching and Learning of Foreign Languages, 353–375. Oxford: Peter Lang.
Howard, M., Lemée, I. and Regan, V. (2006) The L2 acquisition of a socio-phonetic variable: The case of /l/ deletion in French. Journal of French Language Studies 16 (1): 1–24. doi:10.1017/S0959269506002298
Labov, W. (1984) Field methods of the project on language change and variation. In W. Baugh and J. Scherzer (eds) Language in Use: Readings in Sociolinguistics, 28–53. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Lafford, B. (2006) The effects of study abroad vs. classroom contexts in Spanish SLA: Old assumptions, new insights and future directions. In C. Klee and T. Face (eds) Selected Proceedings of the 7th Conference on the Acquisition of Spanish and Portuguese as First and Second Languages, 1–25. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
Mougeon, R., Nadasdi, T., Uritescu, D. and Rehner, K. (2001) A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Phonetic Variation in the Spoken French of Immersion Students. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Canadian Association for Applied Linguistics, Quebec City.
Mougeon, R., Nadasdi, T. and Rehner, K. (2010) The Sociolinguistic Competence of Immersion Students. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Regan V. (1995) The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms: Effects of a year abroad on second language learners of French. In B. Freed (ed.) Second Language Acquisition in a Study Abroad Context, 245–267. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Shoemaker, E. and Birdsong, D. (2008) La résolution de la liaison en français par des locuteurs natifs et non-natifs. Acquisition et interaction en langue étrangère 27: 43–62.
Tarone, E. (2007) Sociolinguistic approaches to second language acquisition research – 1997– 2007. Modern Language Journal 91 (5): 837–848. doi:10.1111/j.0026-7902.2007.00672.x
Thomas, A. (2002) La variation phonétique en français langue seconde au niveau universitaire avancé. Acquisition et interaction en langue étrangère 17: 101–121.
Tremblay, A. (2009) Processing liaison-initial words in native and non-native French: Evidence from eye movements. Proceedings of the 10th Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association, 156–159. Tokyo: Interspeech.
Published
2015-09-14
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Howard, M. (2015). On the role of naturalistic and classroom exposure in the acquisition of socio-phonological variation: A longitudinal study of French liaison. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 5(2), 159-179. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v5i2.159
