This study investigates the acquisition of genericity in L2 French and L3 English. While some exponents become generic by assembling morphological, syntactic and discursive cues, definite singular nominals additionally require the well-established kind restriction. It is a pragmatic and language-specific constraint. The participants are L1 Arabic…

A large amount of literature exists on how native speakers derive and process pragmatic inferences, yet few studies have examined the issue in second language learners, despite a controversial debate of second language (L2) ultimate attainment of phenomena situated at external interfaces. This study contributes to the debate on the integration of…

Conventional expressions, a subset of multiword units, are the target of the current study, which aims to address questions concerning native and nonnative speakers' knowledge and processing of a set of such strings. To this end, 13 expressions identified as conventional in the southwest of France were tested in an online contextualized…

This study investigated interrogative structures most frequently used by native speakers of French, in an attempt to reconcile differences between language forms taught in the French as a foreign language classroom and those that are encountered in authentic input. Radio, television, and magazine interviews provided multiple examples of…

In examining how English as a second language (ESL) learners process English formulaic expressions in a nonnative English context, this study aims to investigate the strategies that learners use and how first language (L1) culture and conceptual knowledge could influence the use of the strategies. This study is guided by the research question of…

The present study investigates the possibilities for adult learners to attain nativelikeness in the domain of lexis. Aspects investigated are general lexical knowledge (C-test), receptive deep knowledge, productive collocation knowledge, and productive lexico-pragmatic knowledge in a group of long-residency Swedish French second language (L2)…

Recent research on advanced and near-native second-language (L2) speakers has focused on the acquisition of interface phenomena, for example at the syntax-pragmatics interface. Proponents of the Interface Hypothesis (e.g. Sorace, 2005; Sorace and Filiaci, 2006; Tsimpli and Sorace, 2006; Sorace and Serratrice, 2009) argue that (external) interfaces…

The present study is concerned with the upper limits of SLA--specifically, mastery of the syntax-discourse interface in successful endstate learners of second-language (L2) French (near-native speakers). Left dislocation (LD) is a syntactic means of structuring spoken French discourse by marking topic. Its use requires speakers to coordinate…

One fundamental aspect of all educated native speakers' language competence is stylistic variation, or the ability to adjust speech register to situational formality ( Labov, 1972). In this article, we investigate how current introductory and intermediate college French textbooks develop students' sociolinguistic competence and particularly the…

The primary aim of this study was to assess the impact of a curricular intervention on study-abroad students' use of language- and culture-learning strategies and on their acquisition of requests and apologies. The intervention consisted of a brief face-to-face orientation to learning speech acts, a self-study guidebook on language and culture…

Examines the rationale for research into what constitutes sociopragmatic competence; reviews a series of relevant empirical studies; and reports on one such study of requests, thanks, and apologies made by native speakers and non-native learners of French. (23 references) (GLR)

Compares request strategies in Dutch and English and attributes the differences to a different perception of the need for repair. The article concludes that the Dutch use lexical downgraders where the French use longer constructions, that is, supportive acts. Further research is recommended to verify the findings. (16 references) (Author/CK)

The social significance of the familiar and the formal "you" in Lausanne, Switzerland, is a function of age and social class as well as of culture and social solidarity. (MLA)

In this paper the acquisition and use of emphatic constructions by advanced guided learners of French, in particular (Dutch) first grade university students of French are studied and compared to the acquisition and use of emphatic constructions by (Dutch) secondary school pupils learning French in a purely institutional situation. It is shown that…

A study examined the relationship between two kinds of language competence, linguistic and pragmatic, within the larger domain of the learner's overall competence. Specifically, it investigated whether linguistic competence is (1) necessary, and (2) sufficient for pragmatic competence. Subjects were 14 students of French at Indiana University and…