This contribution addresses the issues involved in teaching the use of verb tenses in texts. To pinpoint pupils’ abilities, we identify the learning objectives in the current curricula for French-speaking Switzerland. Then, we present the theoretical foundations and didactic approach of an innovative sequence developed to teach the “values of past tenses”. This sequence targets classes of the 7th and 8th grades of primary school (pupils between 10 and 12 years old). The analysis of a corpus of pupil narratives produced at the end of the experimentation of the sequence enables us to examine its effects. We discuss the relevance of the innovation in terms of the pupils’ demonstrated ability to combine verb tenses in their texts.
The starting point of this research is to determine the influence of the French language on Spanish L2, with regard to the acquisition-learning process of the oral subjunctive. To do this, a contrastive study is carried out on the structures that differ in both languages. We also carry out an error analysis to discover the causes of the deviations found in the corpus of informants who participated in the study.
This article examines combinations involving the noun worry, particularly structures of the type V + (prep) + (det) + N_worry (e.g. raise worry, arouse worry), thus going beyond the framework of conventional collocations (Hausmann, 1989; Legallois & Tutin, 2013). We hypothesize that although the noun worry appears in various textual genres, its combinatory structures and usages may vary depending on the verb introducing it and the textual genre in which it occurs. To this end, the analysis is based on Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin & LaPolla, 1997), Lexical Priming (Hoey, 2005), and Theory of Mind (Nader-Grosbois, 2011), allowing us to explore the interactions between the syntactic, discursive and cognitive mechanisms governing these phraseological constructions. Drawing on two corpora extracted from the Lexicoscope database, covering both fictional and journalistic genres, this study aims to identify and analyze variations in the use of the noun worry, highlighting the lexico-semantic choices and discursive strategies specific to each genre.
This study focuses on concepts found in constitutional law, and which appear throughout our corpus of work: the Senegalese Constitution. We propose a terminological analysis of the Wolof translation (Wolof is a vehicular language in Senegal) of this text, focusing on the conceptualization of right, freedom and duty in the Wolof version. These notions are at the heart of the legal and political organization of a state, as well as the functioning of its institutions. The relationship between citizens revolves around rights and duties, without forgetting the notion of freedom, which is fundamental to their citizenship. The verbal materialization of these concepts is achieved on a lexical level through “mechanisms of transfer of rights”, as Abolou (2011 p. 24) puts it. The theoretical framework for this study is socioterminology, an approach that focuses on specialized discourse and the circulation of terms. Bidima (1997, 2003) and Abolou (2011) have also discussed the complexity of the legal system in Africa. These authors point to the need to place these writings within discursive frameworks that would allow for a broader reading of the issue in environments where different legal orders confront each other, raising questions about the place of ethos and objectivity.
The hypothesis of this study is based on the influence of L1 knowledge and spelling in the awareness that Italian learners of Portuguese L2 have of the nasal diphthongs [ɐ̃j̃] and [ɐ̃w̃] in the third person plural of the Simple Present and the Subjunctive. In fact, as the nasal diphthongs are inexistent in Italian and since this language possesses a transparent orthography, it was thought that the spelling e would interfere in the way these learners conceive and articulate these units, considering them as a vowel followed by a nasal consonant. To verify this hypothesis, it was conducted an enquiry to 15 students enrolled in the second year of the BA degree at Sapienza University of Rome, and we reached the conclusion that the subjects answered the questions based on orthography. In fact, they did not seem to make a: i) correct identification of the nasal diphthongs (more easily identified when written with two vowels than with a vowel followed by ); ii) distinction between nasal vowel or diphthong (the same spelling is associated to the same unit even if it represents different units); iii) complete distinction of the nasal diphthongs present in the third person plural of the Simple Present and Subjunctive. As a consequence, it is relevant to suggest a set of exercises to explicitly train these units in order to increase phonological awareness.
This article presents a proposal for a didactic sequence for teaching Portuguese as an Additional Language to B1 language level learners, combining four features: pronunciation instruction, awareness of the pluricentricity of Portuguese, the use of literary texts, and the application of digital audiobooks. First, the theoretical propositions that support the four features are summarized (e.g. Castelo, 2025; Costa, 2021; Ramon, 2022; Sekścińska & Olszańska, 2018). Then, the didactic sequence is presented and the choices made are justified based on the previous theoretical propositions. This sequence focuses on developing the contrasts [e]/[ɛ] and [o]/[ɔ], as well as exposing learners to the national varieties of European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. In addition, it includes strategies for exploring literary texts in audiobook format, combining linguistic input, controlled and spontaneous oral production, and feedback. The study emphasizes the importance of digital technology in language teaching and suggests the implementation of this approach to promote phonological competence and the appreciation of linguistic diversity.
Since the mid‑1990s, the Real Academia Española (RAE) has been committed to a panhispanic language policy, while at the same time developing large digital reference corpora (CREA, CORDE, CORPES XXI) and publishing normative works (Nueva Gramática de la Lengua Española in 2009; Diccionario Panhispánico de Dudas in 2005), in collaboration with Spanish-language Academies outside Europe. This article analyses the relationship between both programmes and focuses on how they relate to the pluricentrism stated by the language institutions. It examines the role played by academic databases in the treatment of three questions marked by diatopic variation (dequeísmo, possessive complementation of locative adverbs and use of the pretérito perfecto compuesto).
This article attempts a critical analysis of language policies in Cameroon. Its objective is to understand the relationship between the languages spoken in the country, to take a critical look at recent legislation on official languages and to propose a language management model that takes into account the realities of this “polyglot” country. The data were collected through documentary analysis and non‑participant observation. It emerges from this that Cameroon must not only manage the official languages but also safeguard the national languages in loss of vitality without forgetting the foreign languages which occupy a place of choice in the education system. Three types of languages are identified in Cameroon, namely: foreign languages, official languages and national languages. Each of these types of languages is analyzed in the media, administration and education. A critical reflection is finally proposed so that the linguistic policy of Cameroon effectively allows its citizens to be rooted in their cultures while remaining open to the world.
This paper explores the Oïl dialects of France’s Atlantic Central-West through the lens of Grounded Diasystemic Ecology (GDE), a framework that weaves together linguistic variation, human geography, and ecological context. Anchored in robust ALF data (101 structurally relevant items), it blends edit-distance dialectometry and chorème theory to map complex patterns of phonological areas shaped by marshlands, plains, and historical settlement flows. Rather than seeking rigid borders, the approach identifies diasystemic microcosms—local hubs and relay points—within a fluid, interaction-rich landscape. Fieldwork (1982–2023) and historical sources reveal how linguistic diversity reflects the sociohistorical individuation of these ecological-linguistic formations, offering a phenomenological insight into the dynamics of language space.
Portuguese is a pluricentric language marked by the coexistence of distinct national norms. This study examines how Portuguese is managed in official diplomatic contexts, analyzing 40 texts published between 2020 and 2025 by French embassies in Brazil, Portugal, and Angola. The objective is to determine whether lexical, orthographic, and morphosyntactic choices reflect a bicentric or pluricentric model. Using generative AI (ChatGPT), combined with manual validation, the analysis identifies a recurring pattern: alternation between Brazilian and European norms, with limited assertion of Angolan Portuguese. The findings suggest that embassies tend to adapt their language use to local audiences, reflecting a negotiation between competing normative references. This article offers an initial exploratory mapping of linguistic practices in Lusophone diplomacy and highlights the sociolinguistic tensions between diversity, legitimacy, and institutional coherence. It advocates for more inclusive language policies that give greater visibility to African and emerging variants within the Lusophone space.
Research on linguistic variation and change, particularly in historical contexts, requires an interdisciplinary approach that draws from Sociolinguistics, Historical Linguistics, and the History of the Language. To ensure a more comprehensive study, it is essential to consider the historicity of texts—namely, the discursive traditions that shape them. This article examines the relationship between discursive traditions and linguistic variation by analyzing two types of popular texts: eighteenth-century ex‑votos from Minas Gerais and the Pasquim do Calambau (1798). Both cases illustrate how texts can simultaneously enable and limit different kinds of linguistic research, depending on the analytical perspective adopted. The ex‑votos, devotional texts characterized by strong oral features, reflect a relatively fixed stage of language and specific traditions of popular religiosity. In contrast, the Pasquim do Calambau, a satirical handwritten document, reveals the plurality of linguistic usage in its time and a discursive context marked by social and political critique. Our discussion draws on the theoretical framework of discursive traditions as developed by Kabatek (2006), Kewitz and Simões (2019), Koch and Oesterreicher (1990), and Oesterreicher (2001, 2012). Through a qualitative and comparative analysis of the selected texts, we demonstrate how these discursive traditions contribute to the understanding of linguistic variation, with a particular focus on eighteenth-century Portuguese as used in Minas Gerais.
