“Dites-moi tu”?! la perception de la difficulté du système des pronoms d’adresse en Français
Year: 2006
Type: book-chapter
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The present contribution considers the perception of difficulty of the use of pronouns in the address system in French by 23 native (NSs) and 102 non-native (NNSs) speakers of French. The NNS judged the system to be, « quite difficult » on average, while the NSs described it as «easy », on average. Surprisingly, independent variables such as frequency of use of French and length of stay in a francophone environment - which have been linked to increased native-like use of pronouns of address in previous studies - did not significantly affect the perception of difficulty of the system of address among NNSs. A closer analysis revealed that increasing use of French and longer stays in francophone environment was not linked to a linear decrease in the values reflecting perception of difficulty. While NNSs at intermediate levels of contact judged the system to be easier than those with less intense contact, difficulty scores peaked again for NNSs who used French most frequently. This non-linear relation suggests that at some point in the development of their sociolinguistic competence NNSs feel quite confident about their mastery of the system, but at a later stage they realise that some aspects still elude them. NNSs with L1s having multiple address pronouns judged the address system in French to be more difficult compared to NNSs with an L1 with a single address pronoun.
Authors: Jean‐Marc Dewaele, Gaëlle Planchenault
Language: French
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2143112284