The variable use on versus tu/vous for indefinite reference in Spoken French

Abstract

abstractThe subject clitic on has a surprising range of referential values, both indefinite and definite, that can be seen only when one examines the use of the pronoun in natural discourse. This paper proposes a partial typology of on derived from examples found in a socially-deverse corpus of Tourangeau French. The focus of the paper is on the variable use of on versus vous or tu as indefinite-genetic pronouns. The variation is partially constrained by a complex of linguistic, sociolinguistic, and partially discourse pragmatic factors. The saliency the speaker wishes to give to the referent apppears to be a key factor determining the probability of occurrence of the variants.