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Variable deletion of French /l/: linguistic, social and stylistic factors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2009

Nigel Armstrong
Nigel Armstrong*
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
*
Department of French Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU
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Abstract

This article considers variable /l/-deletion in the French definite articles, subject clitic pronouns and in one frequent phono-lexical context, exemplified by table ‘table’ and ronfle ‘snore’. It reports the treatment of /l/ by a sample of secondary schoolchildren from Lorraine in north-eastern France. The definite articles and subject clitics are considered on the one hand in relation to the linguistic constraints which influence /l/-deletion, and on the other to the extra-linguistic variables of age, sex and speech style. Variable /l/-deletion in the phono-lexical context referred to above is examined principally in relation to the lexical input which influences /l/-deletion. Finally, we consider whether the sociolinguistic patterns reported here are indicative of linguistic change in progress, or whether the effects observed are revelatory rather of attitudes to non-standard linguistic forms inculcated in speakers by normative French pedagogy.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of French Language Studies , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 1996 , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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