The Dynamics of Linguistic Systems and the Acquisition of French as a Second Language

Abstract

It has been observed that learners of French as a second language at different stages of the acquisition process tend to use forms and rules that are comparable to those of French-based creoles or pid-ginized French. The more advanced learners employ rules and forms akin to dialectal variants of French or to French as spoken in isolated areas such as Old Mines, Missouri. The learners produce non-standard forms considered unacceptable by the purist tradition of French grammarians. It has been noted that the observed similarities between interlanguage, regional dialects, etc., occur in given “sensitive” zones of French morphology and syntax such as the use of verbs and auxiliaries, morphology and placement of clitic pronouns, over-generalization of given prepositions, those very areas which are problematic in the acquisition of French as L1. Since the 17th century, these have been the object of a strict codification by purist grammarians who disregard actual usage in various dialects. It is hypothesized that such similarities between the interlanguage forms at various stages of development, French regional dialects, and areas of conflict over the elaboration of norms in standard French can be partly accounted for if one considers the dynamics of the target language. To explain the functioning of this process, we posit a “system” comprising the learner-speaker, the specific linguistic system itself (including pressure to conform to the norm), and the interactions with native speakers. Through self-regulation, this system devises solutions which perforce pertain to that common area which in any language is at the crossroads of variation, language change, and acquisition. This hypothetical zone (called français zéro by Chaudenson, 1984) is the point of convergence of the self-regulating processes which are responsible for the formal and functional similarities between French-based interlanguages, language change, norm conflicts in the standardization of French, and the creolization process.