ADVANCED SPEAKER, QUASI-NATIVE SPEAKER: THE ROLE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE IN THE MORPHOSYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT OF FRENCH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
ADVANCED SPEAKER, QUASI-NATIVE SPEAKER: THE ROLE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE IN THE MORPHOSYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT OF FRENCH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Summary/Abstract: Acquisitional literature defines the stages of language acquisition, their characteristic features and the types of speakers, while highlighting the role of the mother tongue in learning a foreign language. In the case of the acquisition of French, it has been found that the pace is very fast at the basic levels while at the advanced levels, the progression becomes less visible. Studies show that age has an important role, but to this are added the input factor, the properties of the linguistic structures to be acquired, the frequency of occurrence and the typical frequency. Specialists note the difficulty of defining the advanced variety. They propose another category „the quasi-native level”. To establish the characteristic features of the advanced variety, three areas of investigation were established: the fragile areas that reveal grammatical competence, discursive competence and the linguistic competence. By analyzing these aspects in the acquisition of French as a foreign language in children and adults, we wonder about the conditions to be fulfilled for a learner to reach the quasi-native level. Even if the studies speak of a critical age between 4 and 13 years, beyond which the quasi-native stage is no longer accessible, there are many examples that contradict them. Attitude, motivation, cultural representations can facilitate the process or become an obstacle. As perfect linguistic competence does not exist, the opposition native – non-native serves rather to give confidence to natives and to insecure others, while remaining a stereotype categorization, of a social or professional nature.

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