The acquisition of variation and change in English by Canadian francophones

Abstract This article describes the compilation of three new spoken language corpora designed to address the acquisition of variation and change in English by second language (L2) learners. The first corpus represents L2 English recorded from native Canadian francophones in the Canadian National Capital Region. A second corpus of vernacular English recorded from native anglophones in the same region furnishes a local baseline variety of the target language (TL). A third corpus of local Canadian French represents L2 speakers’ first language (L1). These corpora are used to determine the extent to which L2 variable patterns approximate those in the TL. Comparison of L2 variable features with structural analogues in speakers’ L1, French, additionally affords a window on possible L1 transfer effects. We present a case study exploring the L2 acquisition of quotative variation and change in the local TL benchmark variety. Results point to the close approximation of higher-proficiency L2 speakers to TL community norms, challenging the prevailing notion that L2 acquisition typically involves incomplete mastery of TL patterns and constraints.