Linguistic choices: eight years later. The evolution of linguistic uses from pre-school to primary school

Abstract

This paper deals with the evolution of the linguistic choices of a group of 17 pupils. This evolution is based on two observation points in time: the first in 2004, when the children were 3-4 years old, and the second, eight years later, in 2012. Language choice is a personal matter in Catalonia. In this study, the main goal is to determine whether this sociopragmatic norm becomes consolidated in individuals from a very early age or, on the contrary, whether the progressive acquisition of L2 or of the sociolinguistic norms modifies the dyads’ code of relationship. The results obtained are not conclusive for out-group dyads because no generalisable behaviour pattern was found for the pupils as a whole. In the cases in which language shift has been observed, the direction of the new linguistic choices is analysed. 

Keywords: linguistic choices, norms of linguistic use, childhood, linguistic habitus, L2 acquisition process.