Interlocutors’ judgment of Lx conventional expressions: An exploratory study

Suzie Beaulieu; Fanny Forsberg Lundell; Javier Bejarano

doi:10.1515/ip-2022-5003

Article

Interlocutors’ judgment of Lx conventional expressions: An exploratory study

Suzie Beaulieu
Suzie Beaulieu is a teacher educator and researcher at Laval University. Her research interests focus mainly on the acquisition of Lx French in an adult population, and more particularly on the skills needed to successfully integrate French-speaking communities of practice. More specifically, she has investigated the linguistic attitudes of French L1 speakers towards French Lx users, the development of Lx oral skills among (low) literate adult learners, and the explicit teaching of Quebec French sociolinguistic and pragmatic norms.
, Fanny Forsberg Lundell
Fanny Forsberg Lundell is a professor of French at Stockholm University, Sweden. Besides publishing extensively on formulaic language use in L2 French and Spanish, her work includes second language pragmatics. She currently carries out research on psychological and social factors in high-level L2 attainment, also related to formulaic language and to possibilities of native-like attainment. In addition, she is highly involved in societal debates in Sweden, and lately, she has written reports and articles on language policy.
and Javier Bejarano
Javier Bejarano is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at Laval University, where he currently teaches L2 French and L2 Spanish. His research involves formulaic language deviances in L2 French produced by Spanish L1 speakers. He is also interested in the learning and teaching of formulaic language in L2 French and L2 Spanish. He is involved in other research projects related to TBLT and language attitudes towards French L2 users.

Published/Copyright: October 21, 2022

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From the journal Intercultural Pragmatics Volume 19 Issue 5

Abstract

The present study is a perception study that investigates how French L1 speakers evaluate the speech produced by advanced French Lx users that deviates from the pragmatic norms of the local community. More specifically, this exploratory study investigates how conventional expressions that displayed pragmalinguistic or sociopragmatic deviances affected the raters’ (N = 62) evaluation of perceived communicative effectiveness and perceived likeability of the speakers in imagined intercultural encounters. Results from the study revealed that deviances were generally judged more severely on both evaluative dimensions than the target conventional expressions. Interestingly, however, findings also showed that deviances that partly included the pragmalinguistic or sociopragmatic resources preferred by target community members were evaluated positively. Methodological recommendations to pursue this new line of inquiry in the field of intercultural pragmatics are also discussed.

Keywords: conventional expressions; French L2; intercultural pragmatics; perception

Corresponding author: Suzie Beaulieu, Laval University, Québec, Canada, E-mail: suzie.beaulieu@lli.ulaval.ca

About the authors

Suzie Beaulieu

Suzie Beaulieu is a teacher educator and researcher at Laval University. Her research interests focus mainly on the acquisition of Lx French in an adult population, and more particularly on the skills needed to successfully integrate French-speaking communities of practice. More specifically, she has investigated the linguistic attitudes of French L1 speakers towards French Lx users, the development of Lx oral skills among (low) literate adult learners, and the explicit teaching of Quebec French sociolinguistic and pragmatic norms.

Fanny Forsberg Lundell

Fanny Forsberg Lundell is a professor of French at Stockholm University, Sweden. Besides publishing extensively on formulaic language use in L2 French and Spanish, her work includes second language pragmatics. She currently carries out research on psychological and social factors in high-level L2 attainment, also related to formulaic language and to possibilities of native-like attainment. In addition, she is highly involved in societal debates in Sweden, and lately, she has written reports and articles on language policy.

Javier Bejarano

Javier Bejarano is a PhD candidate in Applied Linguistics at Laval University, where he currently teaches L2 French and L2 Spanish. His research involves formulaic language deviances in L2 French produced by Spanish L1 speakers. He is also interested in the learning and teaching of formulaic language in L2 French and L2 Spanish. He is involved in other research projects related to TBLT and language attitudes towards French L2 users.

Appendix: Questionnaire items

Pragmalinguistic deviances – Type 1	Target conventional expressions
C’est peu importe.	Peu importe.
J’apprit le décès de ta conjointe, mes condoléances.	J’ai appris le décès de ta conjointe, mes condoléances.
Qu’est-ce qui a arrivé ?	Qu’est-ce qui est arrivé ?
Vraiment désolée de manquer le cours.	Vraiment désolée d’avoir manqué le cours.

Pragmalinguistic deviances – Type 2	Target conventional expressions

Est-ce que tu peux expliquer un petit peu plus pour moi, je ne comprends pas.	Je ne comprends pas. Qu’est-ce que tu veux dire par « pas fantastique » ?
Mathilde, c’est mon amie, elle s’appelle Laure.	Mathilde, je te présente Laure.
Il y avait un problème avec la connexion. Peux-tu répéter?	J’entends vraiment mal. Peux-tu répéter?
Désolé Simon, j’ai un autre rendez-vous donc je n’ai pas le choix de te laisser.	Désolé Simon, j’ai un autre rendez-vous, il faut vraiment que j’y aille.

Sociopragmatic deviances	Target conventional expressions

Est-ce que je peux te parler de quelque chose?	Qu’est-ce que t’en penses ?
D’accord. On va se voir la semaine prochaine.	Je comprends. Il n’y a pas de problème.
Tout à fait, c’est correct pour moi.	Merci beaucoup, c’est vraiment gentil !
Merci beaucoup, j’ai commencé à m’entrainer.	Merci beaucoup, toi aussi.

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Published Online: 2022-10-21

Published in Print: 2022-11-25

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ip-2022-5003

Keywords for this article

conventional expressions; French L2; intercultural pragmatics; perception