Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

INTERLOCUTOR EFFECTS ON SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION IN L2 FRENCH

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dc.contributor Auger, Julie
dc.creator Black, Mark
dc.date 2021-02-22T18:32:39Z
dc.date 2021-02-22T18:32:39Z
dc.date 2021-02
dc.date.accessioned 2023-02-24T18:26:29Z
dc.date.available 2023-02-24T18:26:29Z
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/2022/26298
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/260280
dc.description Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Department of French and Italian, 2021
dc.description The ability to speak in a second language (L2) requires a certain level of linguistic proficiency, but the ability to live in a second language requires a certain level of sociolinguistic proficiency. L2 sociolinguistic variables present acquisitional challenges for language learners, since informal discourse features are largely absent from classroom-based input but frequent in native speakers’ informal communication. In this dissertation, I examine how L2 sociolinguistic performance can be influenced by a specific social characteristic: the interlocutor’s native language status vis-à-vis the language of communication. That is, how does learner speech change in conversation with a native speaker compared to conversation with another learner who shares the same L1? While previous studies have examined this interlocutor characteristic on measures of grammatical proficiency in classroom-based learners, few studies have measured its effect on sociolinguistic performance, especially in highly advanced learners. My data focus on two sociolinguistic features that frequently appear in informal French: ne-deletion (ND) and subject doubling (SD). I examine the interlocutor effect on these variables in two groups of learners: study-abroad students at low-advanced proficiency and highly proficient near-native speakers. Both groups were recorded in informal one-on-one conversations with a native and non-native French interlocutor. Study-abroad students demonstrated significantly higher rates of ND and SD (characteristic of more informal, nativelike speech) in conversation with a native French speaker than when speaking with another study-abroad student. Furthermore, a variationist analysis revealed interlocutor language status as the most significant social factor influencing variation for ND and SD. In near-native speakers, only marginal differences in ND and SD frequency were detected across interlocutor language statuses, suggesting a diminishing influence as proficiency increases. The results demonstrate that researchers must be aware of this interlocutor effect when designing tasks that evaluate sociolinguistic performance in learners.
dc.language en
dc.publisher [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University
dc.subject French
dc.subject sociolinguistics
dc.subject second language acquisition
dc.subject interlocutor
dc.subject ne-deletion
dc.subject subject doubling
dc.title INTERLOCUTOR EFFECTS ON SOCIOLINGUISTIC VARIATION IN L2 FRENCH
dc.type Doctoral Dissertation


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