Aspects hypercorrectifs de la compétence phonétique chez le francophone non confirmé

Abstract

Extending linguistic phenomena into co-texts where they would not normally occur usually involves hypercorrection. Hypercorrection can be defined as the language user’s desire to conform to perceived standards of linguistic excellence; it typically stems from what is known as “linguistic insecurity”. Hypercorrection may manifest in various forms that span all contexts of language learning and use – regardless of the chosen medium (spoken or written language) – and can affect all types of linguistic competence. To what extent is the development of a non-native speaker’s phonological competence influenced by hypercorrection? This is the central question the present study seeks to address. To achieve this, it draws on linguistic data from a corpus of 130 oral presentations, each lasting around ten minutes. These presentations were delivered, before a peer audience, by Greek-speaking users of French, all of whom had attained a level of proficiency in French as a foreign language consistent with the expectations of the second year of a university program in French Studies conducted in a Greek-speaking environment. Based on the results, the phonological competence of this population – composed of proficient L2 French users – appears highly susceptible to hypercorrection. More than half of the recorded presentations exhibit recurrent hypercorrective tendencies which require further elucidation.