Use/non-use of ne in Spoken French by L2 and L3 French Speakers

Abstract

The present paper examines the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence by proficiency-matched third language (L3) and second language (L2) French speakers whose first language (L1) is either English or Sinhala. The ability to change the register of the target language appropriately according to different social contexts is the most important aspect of sociolinguistic competence that L2/L3 learners need to acquire. However, previous studies show that non-native speakers often find it difficult to use sociolinguistically appropriate language even after many years of learning an additional language in formal settings. Further, previous L2 studies have focused on corpora derived mainly from immersion students who speak European languages. Therefore, there have been, to date, virtually no variationist studies on the use of French sociolinguistic variables by L1-Sinhala-L2-English-L3-French learners. The present study intends to fill the gap in research by investigating knowledge of verbal negation in the French-Sinhala interlanguage. The originality of the present study lies in the research design. It compares data derived from proficiency-matched L2 and L3 French speakers. The results suggest that the L2 group can use socially appropriate speech more effectively than the L3 group.