INTERCOMMUNICATION OF COLLOQUIAL AND/OR NON-STANDARD PORTUGUESE AND STANDARD FRENCH IN A FRENCH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASS

ABSTRACT

In this article, aspects of variation in Portuguese are related to those crystallized by French grammar, to establish intercommunications between productions that are similar in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French, based on the hypothesis that intercommunicative activities of explicitness between such particularities in both languages can improve FL proficiency. This hypothesis is based on the work of Miranda de Paulo (2017) , Candelier (2016) , and Bagno (1999) . The methodology comprises expository and dialogical classes, which focus on stimulating students to contrast and interrelate activities that contextualize words or expressions in standard French that are organized in a similar way to variation in Portuguese. The results show that the subjects, besides contrasting the two varieties in the languages in the study, also transposed structures from one variety to the other, adapting them to standard French.

integrated didactics; Portuguese as a mother tongue; French as a foreign language; standard French; colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese

RESUMO

Neste artigo, relacionam-se aspectos em variação no português àqueles cristalizados pela gramática no francês, com o objetivo de se estabelecerem intercomunicações entre produções que se assemelham no português coloquial e/ou não padrão e no francês padrão, partindo-se da hipótese segundo a qual atividades intercomunicativas de explicitação, entre tais particularidades, nas duas línguas, são capazes de gerar melhor proficiência na LE. Essa hipótese consubstancia-se em trabalhos como, por exemplo, os de Miranda de Paulo (2017), Candelier (2016) e Bagno (1999). A metodologia consiste em aulas expositivas e dialogadas, cujo foco incide em estimular os alunos a contrastarem e a inter-relacionarem atividades que contextualizem palavras ou expressões no francês padrão que se organizam de maneira semelhante à variação no português. Os resultados mostram que os sujeitos, além de terem contrastado as duas variedades, nas línguas em contato no estudo, também transpuseram estruturas de uma variedade a outra, adequando-as ao padrão do francês.

didática integrada; português língua materna; francês língua estrangeira; francês padrão; português coloquial e/ou não padrão

Introduction

Addressing aspects of variation in Brazilian Portuguese, henceforth Portuguese, in relation to those that categorically occur in French may give rise to valuable comparisons in the context of teaching and learning, both of Foreign Language (FL) and Mother Tongue (MT). Some consolidated productions in French tend to be organized in a way similar to variation in Portuguese. This is the case, for example, of the palatal lateral [λ], plural neutralization, deletion of the final /R/ of regular infinitives, deletion of the final /m/ of nouns ending in /eN/, /aw/ structures produced as [o], and regularity of the verbal paradigm.

Bringing such conceptions to the French as a Foreign Language (FFL) classroom, within a linguistic integration perspective that promotes the contrast between the two languages—French and Portuguese¹—albeit in different varieties, can also bring the opportunity to facilitate proficiency in FL. Therefore, based on studies that advocate language integration, especially those that demonstrate the possibility of working an integrated didactic approach, this study aims to establish intercommunications between productions that are similar in colloquial²and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French in the FFL classroom. It is assumed that intercommunicative activities of explicitness between such phenomena can generate better proficiency in FL—in this case, French.

This article is divided into five sections as follows. The first section, the introduction, presents a brief report on the theme and objective. The second section addresses the reasons for strengthening the integration of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in FFL classes, as well as the possible interrelations between languages, in oral and written forms, based on the literature adopted to support the study. The third section describes the methodological procedures employed. The results of the research, along with the description and interpretation of the data, are subsequently presented. Finally, the conclusions are discussed.

Why strengthen the integration of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in FFL lessons?

To combine, extend, transfer knowledge, and take advantage of students’ linguistic experiences in the FL classroom, approaches advocating linguistic integration are increasingly gaining ground. According to Candelier (2016) , Castellotti (2001 , 2014 ), Moore (2008) , Dahlet (2008) , Chiss (2013) , Miranda de Paulo (2017) and Degache and Garbarino (2017) , for instance, when considering intercommunicative work, it is possible to obtain “fruitful linguistic reflections and the development of critical thinking³” (DOGLIANI, 2008c, p. 5, our translation).

Dogliani (2008a) and Mozillo (2006) correlate certain varieties of Portuguese to similar structures in French in order to demonstrate similar processes in both languages. To do so, they compare tendencies that are sometimes devoid of prestige in Portuguese but are categorically manifested in standard French. They claim that this leads to results such as knowledge transfer from one language to another, as well as the possibility of abolishing linguistic prejudices. Oliveira (2008 , p. 20, our translation) also adds the opportunity to “value the foreign language and the foreigner himself (the other)⁴.” Bagno (1999) and Bortoni-Ricardo (2005) too point out positive aspects, especially with regard to the possibility of making the classroom environment conducive to demystifying prejudices and linguistic prejudices.

The linguistic approximations mentioned above may arise from intercommunicative work between colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French in FL classes. In this process, Portuguese words and expressions, part of speakers’ everyday lives, are explained and superimposed on consolidated French items, considering linguistic variation. This suggests that some Portuguese forms are performed identically and are already established in French grammar, strengthening the connections between languages and helping transfers. As in a two-way street, languages can help each other through a kind of linguistic feedback.

Regarding the notion of language transfer, discussed in the preceding paragraph, Escudé and Calvo del Olmo (2019) explain that this idea is central to the process of acquiring a new language, because the notion of “ transfer ”⁵will facilitate the performance of an activity in a given situation through a similar circumstance, but previously acknowledged. According to these authors, it is the incentive of linguistic transfers and the establishment of connections between languages that will allow learners to experience and build the architecture of the new language by themselves.

In view of this, providing the opportunity for linguistic intercommunication and the use of language experiences, in this case especially MT, to build new knowledge and develop new competencies makes the FL classroom an environment conducive to reflection and bridge-building⁶, as well as a fruitful environment for intellectual and cultural discussion, a privileged place for discussion, reflection, comparison, and transfer of knowledge arising from the approximations experienced (MIRANDA DE PAOLO, 2017; CANDELIER, 2016 ). This answers the question-title of the section Why strengthen the integration of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in FFL classes?

Possible interrelations of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French: interfaces between oral and written forms

Considering the oral and written forms of Portuguese and French that are dealt with in this study, some intercommunications that may emerge from the linguistic approximation, in the context of the integration of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in FFL classrooms, will be presented below⁷.

(i)Neutralization of the plural

The loss of plural marking in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese reproduces a feature of standard French, in which the -s is written but not pronounced. Thus, the plural in French is neutralized, as it occurs in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese – mes amis riches [mezamiʁi∫ǝ] in French and meus amigo rico [mewzamiguriku] in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese. Plural neutralization in Portuguese can occur in both discredited and more prestigious varieties: for example, as criança [askɾiɐ̃sɐ]. However, in French this is the only possibility of occurrence of les enfants [lezãfã].

(ii)Variation of the palatal lateral [λ]

In standard French, the pronunciation of the palatal lateral [λ] is similar to the variation in Portuguese for certain vocabulary in non-prestigious varieties. In French, -ll in the written register is produced in the spoken register as a rounded, semi-frontal, semi-closed vowel [ʎ]. Thus, spoken registers in standard French, as in [famij] famille , [fij] fille , [ᴐʁԐj] oreille , for example, refer to [famijɐ] famia (family), [fijɐ] fia (daughter), and [orejɐ] oreia (ear) in certain registers of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese, in analogous but less prestigious situations.

(iii)Deleting /R/ from regular infinitives

As for verbs in the infinitive, in French, the verbs of the greatest number, those of the first group ending in -er , do not have their final /R/ pronounced: [ale] for aller , [ʁəgaʁde] for regarder . The same phenomenon occurs in colloquial and/or non-standard varieties of Portuguese, both lower and higher prestige ones, in all infinitives of the three verb endings, [ama], [le], [vi] for amar, ler , and vir , respectively, in the written register.

(iv)/aw/ structures pronounced [o]

In certain discredited varieties of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese, the diphthong /aw/ as in aumentar and autoridade , for example, is pronounced as [o] - [omẽnta] and [otoridadʒi]. In standard French, one of the graphical distributions for the phoneme [o] is /aw/. Thus, words like augmenter and autorité are pronounced [ogmãte] and [otᴐʁite], respectively, similarly to colloquial and/or non-standard structures in less prestigious varieties of Portuguese.

(v)Deletion of /m/ from nouns ending in /eN/

In some colloquial and/or non-standard varieties of Portuguese, words like voyage, garage , and passage can be pronounced [viaӡi], [garaӡi], and [pasaӡi], respectively. The same occurs in standard French with words like voyage [vwajaӡǝ], garage [gaʁaӡǝ], and passage [pasaӡǝ]. In colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese, this particularity can be observed in varieties of both lower and higher sociolinguistic prestige; in French, however, this is the only possibility of production.

(vi)Regularity of the verbal paradigm

In Portuguese, several persons appear in verbal agreement in writing ( eu falo, tu falas, ele/ela fala, nós falas, vós falais, vocês falais, eles/elas falas ). In colloquial and/or non-standard, less prestigious situations, only two appear ( eu falo [falu], tu/ele/ela/a gente / você/nós/eles/elas/vocês - fala [fal ɐ] ). Similarly, French has several persons in verbal agreement in writing ( je parle, tu parles, Il/elle parle, nous parlons, vous parlez, ils/elles parlent ), but only three in production ( je, tu, Il/elle, on, ils/elles [paʁl], nous [paʁlõ], vous [paʁle]), with the possibility of there being only two ([paʁl], [paʁle]) if on parle replaces nous parlons . Table 1 , shown below, systematizes the above explanation.

Table 1
– Regularity of the verbal paradigm

Written Portuguese	Colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in discredited oral form	Written French	French pattern in oral form
I speak you speak he/she/you speak we speak you speak you guys talk they speak	I speak [falu] You/he/she/you/us/we/you/they speak [falɐ]	je parle you parlez-vous il/elle parle nous parlons vous parlez ils/elles parlent	je/tu/ il/ elle/ils/ elles/on [paʁl] nous [paʁlɔ̃] vous [paʁle]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

According to Table 1 , one can verify that verbs in the spoken register of French do not constitute a variable rule, but a categorical one, while in Portuguese they mirror, in some cases, the variation of lower sociolinguistic prestige.

Methodological Procedures

The subjects of this study were, at the time of collection, regularly attending an optional FFL subject, Foreign Language III (Basic French I), in a federal public high school of technical and technological education, located in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil⁸. Each participant was assigned a number to ensure confidentiality and anonymity regarding their identification. The numbering was also intended to facilitate the treatment using the data.

The corpus is composed of data from three collection procedures, namely: 1. highlighting intercommunication phenomena between productions that occur in a similar way in standard French and colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese; 2. audio and video recordings of the productions resulting from the highlighting process, followed by the due transcriptions; and 3. annotations of the reactions and statements of the subjects when encountering the explicit activities of phenomena that occur categorically in both languages, in different varieties.

From the obtained data, only those that contemplated the phenomena analyzed in the research were intentionally selected, that is, those that allowed possibilities of interpreting intercommunications between colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French.

Results

At the beginning of each section, a table is displayed that contains examples that support the explanations for the intended intercommunications. Then, the data, embodied by the subjects’ statements within the studied context, are described and interpreted.

(i)Data gathered from the explanation about the neutralization of the plural

Table 2 illustrates examples of how colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in prestigious and discredited oral and written forms, as well as standard French in oral and written forms, proceeds with respect to plural neutralization.

Table 2
– Examples for plural neutralization in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French

Occurrence Phenomenon		Portuguese writing	Colloquial and/or nonstandard Portuguese oral form prestigious/depreciated	French written form	Standard French oral form
Neutralization of the plural	1.	My rich friends	[mewzamiguriku]	Mes amis riches	[mezamiʁi∫]
	2.	The children	[askɾiɐ̃sɐ]	Les enfants	[lezãfã]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

Table 2 shows that the loss of the plural marking in the spoken register of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese reproduces a feature found in French since the 12^thcentury, namely the fact of writing the -s , but not pronouncing it ( ESCUDÉ; CALVO DEL OLMO, 2019 ). In spoken registers of the French language, in cases such as le poisson/les poissons [lɘpwasͻ̃], it is difficult to distinguish the singular from the plural in oral form solely by means of the article, because both forms emerge phonetically as [lɘpwasͻ̃] ( ESCUDÉ; CALVO DEL OLMO, 2019 ).

Although colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese is equal to standard French, both oral and written, because they indicate the plural in the determiner only, it is not common that students establish, by themselves, a dialogue between this identical phenomenon in both languages. Thus, a simple call from the teacher can highlight that neutralization of the plural in the French language is a historical phenomenon assimilated in spoken registers and still maintains the historical conservatism in the written register. This may be conducive to critical thinking about linguistic variation and change (DOGLIANI, 2008a).

Based on this premise advocated by Dogliani (2008a), a simple look at the philology of the French language by the teacher can trigger the introduction of historical facts that consolidate the variation, and dialogues between FL and MT. This is the case, for example, in the activity in which students were asked to read the sentence Madame Leblanc, vos petits-enfants, ça va?⁹ whose production required neutralization of the plural in enfants in the word petits-enfants. One of the subjects made the following comment (1a):

This comment suggests that the subject managed to establish a connection between colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French by neutralizing the plural in his productions in FL, in his spoken registers. His doubt, at the time of reading, seems to fall on the marking of other consonants, as in 1a, which refers to the marking or not of the final [t] in the word petits-enfants . The observations of the teacher-researcher seem to have helped her visualize and understand the process, as well as understand that the application of plural neutralization in everyday speech is an integral part of the MT.

(ii)Data gathered from the explanation about the variation of the palatal lateral [λ]

Table 3 shows examples of how Portuguese in written form and colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in depreciated oral form, as well as standard oral and written French, are expressed with respect to variation of the palatal lateral [λ].

Table 3
– Examples for the variation of the palatal lateral [λ] in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French

Occurrence Phenomenon		Portuguese written form	Colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in oral form depreciated	French written form	French standard oral form
Variation of the lateral [λ].	1.	Daughter	[fjɐ]	Fille	[fijə]
	2.	Family	[famijɐ]	Family	[famijə]
	3.	Ear	[oreijɐ]	Oreille	[ᴐʁԐijə]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

Vocalization of the lateral palatal, shown in Table 3 , occurs in identical processes in both languages, but in Portuguese it is assimilable only by certain social groups. According to Dogliani (2008a), it is relevant, in analogous cases, to mention that the vocalized pronunciation [y], highly stigmatized in Brazilian Portuguese, was the former pronunciation of the palatal lateral [λ] in French but is now consolidated as a result of evolution and variation. Taking this axiom as a parameter, we read a fragment of the work L’Amant de Marguerite Duras - Photo de famille ¹⁰. One of the subjects, when reading the title of the excerpt, made the following comment [2a], when encountering the word famille:

At the time of the activity, the subject hesitated with the pronunciation of the word fille in the sentence C’est garçon, c’est fille (BADY; GREAVES; PETETIN, 1996) and asked the following (2b).

The data in 2a and 2b suggest that the subject can relate the phenomena of variation in his MT regarding the pronunciation of less prestigious palatal lateral [λ] to those of FL that are prestigious, which seems to have arisen from the detailing of the process at the time of the activity of explicitness. Further, the statements presented in 2a and 2b are supported by Couto (2009) , who argues that the word velho is produced as véi [vɛj] by a large proportion of young Brazilians nowadays, a fact that brings the production of certain registers spoken in the MT like muié [mujɛ] and paia closer to the production in the FL, in the varieties discussed.

(iii)Data extracted from the explanation about the deletion of the /R/ of regular infinitives

Examples of how colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French occur regarding deletion of the final /R/ of regular infinitives, in written form and prestigious and non-prestigious oral situations, are presented in Table 4 .

Table 4
– Examples for deletion of /R/ at the end of regular infinitives in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French.

Occurrence Phenomenon		Portuguese written form	Colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in discredited oral form	French written form	French pattern in oral form
Deletion of /R/ in infinitives	1.	Sing	[kɐ̃ta]	chanter	[ʃɑ̃te]
	2.	Work	[tɾabaʎa]	travailler	[tRavaje]
	3.	Study	[istuda]	étudier	[etydje]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

As found in the intercommunication activities already presented, Table 4 contains examples of regular infinitives in French, those ending in -er , in which there is deletion of the /R/ equivalent to that in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese with infinitives ending in -ar ¹², in varieties with both lower and higher sociolinguistic prestige.

Based on examples 1, 2, and 3, shown in Table 4 , the sentence Protéger l’environnement c’est préserver l’avenir de l’homme was read, containing words in the context studied, namely protéger and préserver . When reading the sentence, the subjects stated the following (3a) when asked by the teacher-researcher What about the words ending in “ER”?

The reading of words with -er ending of regular infinitives in subsequent activities, as in the case of manger in the sentence nous mangeons tous les trois à la table de la salle à manger et il nous regarde manger , was followed by the teacher-researcher pointing out the discrepancy between speech and writing of regular infinitives that occur in prestigious varieties of Portuguese and that are standard in French, that is, the deletion of the final /R/ of regular infinitives in registers spoken in both varieties¹³. As a result, the subjects, when encountering words containing the above-mentioned context, monitored their productions, adapting them to standard French and immediately deleting the final /R/ from the regular infinitive.

(iv)Data extracted from the explanation about structures /aw/ pronounced [o]

The linguistic intercommunication activities concerning the way written and oral Portuguese in colloquial register and/or non-standard discredited, as well as standard French in oral and written forms, proceeds regarding the production of the diphthong /aw/ were based on the examples presented in Table 5 .

Table 5
– Examples for the structure /aw/ pronounced [o] in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French.

Occurrence Phenomenon		Portuguese written form	Colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in discredited oral form	French written form	French standard oral form
/aw/ structures pronounced [o]	1.	Increase	[omẽta]	Augmenter	[ogmãte]
	2.	Authority	[otoɾidadʒɪ]	Authorité	[otᴐʁite]
	3.	Austerity	[osteɾidadʒɪ]14	Austérité	[osteʁite]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

Based on the examples in Table 5 , the intercommunication activity was conducted by reading the sentence il est au chômage ¹⁵. It was stressed that /aw/ in au chômage is pronounced similarly to [otoɾidadʒɪ] for “authority” in less prestigious dialects of Portuguese.

Subjects were asked to complete sentences similar to Il…………au dos with the verbs être and avoir ¹⁶. When reading the sentence Il a mal au dos , one of the subjects made the following comment (4a):

At the time of production of the sentence Sur le balcon, il y a ..... cage avec..... oiseau, there was a hesitation when reading the end of the word oiseau, as seen in 4b:

The statements expressed in 4a and 4b suggest that the approximation between the productions in standard French and those of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese in varieties of less sociolinguistic prestige helped the students in the proficiency of expressions that displayed targets with identical contexts in FL, thus serving as a support when it came time to take their hypotheses in the exact production of the diphthong /aw/ in the French language.

To understand the variation phenomena in the languages studied, it is important to mention that vocalization processes such as /aw/ have been recorded in French since the seventeenth century and therefore became consolidated and considered as standard, while in Portuguese they remain a variable rule and in dialects of lower sociolinguistic prestige (DOGLIANI, 2008a).

(v)Data extracted from the explanation about the final deletion of nouns ending in /eN/

Examples of how written, colloquial, and/or non-standard Portuguese, both in discredited and prestigious varieties, and standard French in oral and written form, proceeds regarding final deletion of nouns ending in /eN/ are presented in Table 6 .

Table 6
– Examples for the final deletion of nouns ending in /eN/ in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French.

Occurrence Phenomenon		Portuguese written form	Portuguese colloquial and/or non-standard orally prestigious/ discredited	French written form	French pattern in oral form
Nouns that end in /eN/	1.	Garage	[gaɾaʒj]	Garage	[gaʁaӡ]
	2.	Travel	[viaӡj]	Voyage	[vwajaӡ]
	3.	Passage	[pasaӡj]	Passage	[pasaӡ]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

Regarding the explicitness of the denasalization of final unstressed vowels, which in Portuguese is an indicator of social varieties but also occurs in standard variety registers, albeit more often in unmonitored registers, Bortoni-Ricardo (2005) pronounced [imaӡ] based on the word image in French.

When reading the sentence¹⁷ Protéger l’environnement c’est préserver l’avenir de l’homme, one of the subjects made the following observation (5a) regarding the production of the word homme:

During the study, when the learners encountered the words village and carnage, they made the following observations (5b):

In 5a and 5b, it can be observed that the intercommunication activity seems to have been useful for the subjects, serving as a support when producing nouns covering the studied context; that is, they managed to create a link between colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French, proceeding with the deletion of the final /m/ in nouns containing the targets referred to in the FL in question.

(vi)Data gathered from the explanation about the regularity of the verbal paradigm in the present indicative and obligatory subject

Table 7 presents examples of how written, colloquial, non-standard, and discredited varieties of Portuguese, and in standard written and oral French, occur in the present tense verbal paradigm.

Table 7
– Examples for the regularity of the verbal paradigm in the present tense in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French.

Occurrence Phenomenon	Portuguese written form	Portuguese colloquial and/or non-standard orality prestigious	French written form	French standard oral form
Regularity of the verbal paradigm	I speak you speak he/she/you speak we speak you speak you guys speak they speak	I speak [falu] You/he/she/you/us/we/you/they speak [falɐ]	je parle tu parles il/elle parle nous parlons vous parlez ils/elles parlent	je,/tu/ il/ elle/ils/elles/on [paʁl] nous [paʁlɔ̃] vous [paʁle]

Source: Author’s elaboration.

Table 7 reproduces, through the verbs falar and parler, the explanation given in the FFL class, relative to verbal morphology that registers a decrease of the flexions, conforming in Portuguese as a variable rule and in French as a categorical rule, a trace of how the word was pronounced in another moment of the linguistic evolution. This is because French orthography, consolidated around the eighteenth century, presents a greater mismatch with Portuguese in the correlation between graphemes and phonemes, allowing the visualization of how words were produced in earlier stages of language, referring to Latin. Thus, in French, verbs are written with desinences, traces of the time when they were spoken that way (DOGLIANI, 2008a; ESCUDÉ; CALVO DEL OLMO, 2019 ).

Considering the examples shown in Table 7 , students were given the task of conjugating the verbs manger and comer in the present tense in standard French and in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese, respectively. The results of the activity are shown in 6a:

The intercommunication performed opens the way for the explanation regarding subject obligatoriness in French productions. The reasoning is based on the fact that if the neutralization of the verbal desinence occurs, as in cases of speaking in colloquial and/or non-standard productions of Portuguese, there is a certain opacity regarding who performs the action; thus, in colloquial and/or non-standard speech it is common to mark the subject. Such reasoning, if extended to the standard productions of French, has the same validity. In French, the marking of the subject is obligatory. According to Dogliani (2008a), the identification of the person of the verb becomes opaque, depending on the explicitness by means of the relevant pronouns. In 6b, we see the testimonies resulting from such statements.

The production strategies of the subjects, when confronting targets concerning the regularity of the verbal paradigm and the obligatoriness of the subject, in both languages, and their distinct varieties shown in 6a and 6b, substantiate the possibility of working in FFL classes, the aspect of reflection between colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French, when demonstrating that students were able to make pragmatic use of contexts identical to the Portuguese variation, transposing and displacing them to adequate productions in FL. This is supported by Martins (2014) , who discussed intercomprehension, as well as Capucho (2004 apud MARTINS, 2014 ), who argued for the ability to co-construct meaning between different languages and the pragmatic use of this ability in concrete communicative situations.

Finally, it should be pointed out that calling attention to analogous processes in both languages suggests that, since French is more evolved than Portuguese because of its greater distance from Latin, both languages descend from it and present phenomena crystallized long ago; nevertheless, some are still in variation in Portuguese. This will facilitate students’ understanding, as they will find forms present in their own spoken registers, which may become the only alternative in Portuguese in the future, as occurred in French. However, in this language, these registers varied but are currently consolidated. These activities may assist and contribute to linguistic diversity awareness ( MOZZILLO, 2006 ; DOGLIANI, 2008b; ESCUDÉ; CALVO DEL OLMO, 2019 ).

Conclusion

This article argues in favor of the idea that activities that instigate intercommunication between productions, which are similar in colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese and standard French, can improve proficiency in LE.

Linguistic integration activities were effective, as they served as a support for the adaptations between the varieties in the languages studied. This finding demonstrates the important role that the MT plays in FL classrooms, which is in line with Moore’s (2008 , p. 94-95) words, supporting the notion that

[…] the question of rational alternation of languages is based on the implementation of activities likely to favor the passage to the conceptualization of knowledge that the student already has, to take them out of obscurity, making them objects of reflection and, eventually, to learn to rely on them for acknowledging other linguistic contexts.

This was verified in the subjects’ statements when the teacher/researcher asked them the following question: Are these comparisons, between colloquial Portuguese and standard French, helping you?

Finally, one cannot fail to highlight the contribution of this study to discussions involving intercommunicative linguistic practices. By acquiring support to intercommunicate the two target languages and thus being able to develop oral and written competencies in FFL, as well as produce structures according to standard French, the learner was also given the possibility to, by extension, understand that variation in Portuguese is something that strongly contributes to linguistic diversity and reflection on language as a whole. The linguistic connections demonstrated herein are in line with projects that advocate interaction, as recommended by Candelier (2016 , p. 108): “teaching a language means taking all the linguistic skills déjà-là, into account in order to help students connect the new language to other existing ones.”

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• 1
  The choice of the two Romance languages for the development of the present proposal is justified as the researcher is a double-subject teacher of PMT and FFL in a federal public school in the city of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and teaches the two languages to high school classes simultaneously.
• 2
  We use the term colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese as defined by Bagno (1999 , p. 15-16), taking into account the “high degree of diversity and variability.”
• 3
  Original: “ reflexões linguísticas profícuas e desenvolvimento do espírito crítico ” (DOGLIANI, 2008, p. 5).
• 4
  Original: “ valorizar a língua estrangeira e o próprio estrangeiro (o outro) ” ( OLIVEIRA, 2008 , p. 20).
• 5
  Escudé and Calvo del Olmo (2019 , p. 63) call it a “transfer strategy.”
• 6
  Term present at various parts in the work of Escudé and Calvo del Olmo (2019) , such as on pages 63 and 109.
• 7
  The examples presented are mainly based on Bagno (1999) , Bortoni-Ricardo (2004 , 2005 , 2014 ), Dogliani (2008a) and Mozzillo (2006) .
• 8
  The collection procedures, as well as the terms of consent, are duly registered on Plataforma Brasil.
• 9
  Available from: http://ayudafrances.blogspot.com/2014/01/conversacion-en-frances-sobre-la-familia.html . Accessed on: 19 Apr. 2019.
• 10
  Available from: https://pt.scribd.com/doc/208764104/L-Amant-Marguerite-Duras . Accessed on: 28 Aug. 2019.
• Informal, in the subject’s speech, refers to colloquial and/or non-standard registers in discredited varieties of Portuguese.
• 12
  We focused only on the first -ar endings of colloquial and/or non-standard Portuguese, although the deletion of /R/ from infinitives may occur in all endings in this language. This is because there is no biunivocal equivalence of the deletion of the /R/ end of infinitives in the other endings of standard French.
• 13
  Fragment of the text by Marguerite Dumas - “ Photo de Famille ,” referenced in subsection (ii).
• 14
  An example recently found on a social network.
• 15
  Available from: http://ayudafrances.blogspot.com/2014/01/conversacion-en-frances-sobre-la-familia.html . Accessed on 23 May 2019.
• 16
  Available from: https://www.professeurphifix.net/orthographe_impression/ortho_est_et_ai_es.pdf Accessed on: 23 May 2019.
• 17
  Same exercise as for the deletion of /R/ in regular infinitives.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  13 Dec 2021
• Date of issue
  2021

History

• Received
  3 July 2020
• Accepted
  31 Mar 2021