The Acquisition of French Negation by Yoruba-Speaking Learners: A Longitudinal Study

French negation presents a structurally complex acquisition target, involving the placement and selection of negative particles in positions that have no direct equivalent in Yoruba syntax, creating specific learning challenges for Yoruba-speaking French learners that have not been examined longitudinally. This study investigates the developmental sequence and error patterns in the acquisition of French negation by Yoruba-speaking learners at three secondary schools in Ogun State over two academic years. A longitudinal elicited production design collected spoken and written negation samples from 60 participants at five-month intervals, generating a longitudinal corpus of approximately 18,000 negation contexts. Developmental stages were identified through implicational scaling analysis, and error type frequencies were computed for each data collection point. Results indicate a consistent developmental sequence progressing from productive use of ne...pas in formulaic chunks, through variable omission of ne in pre-verbal position, to gradual mastery of complex negative constructions including ne...rien, ne...jamais, and ne...plus. The ne omission pattern, well-documented in L1 French acquisition and informal spoken French, appeared in learner production from early developmental stages, suggesting processing rather than purely transfer effects. Subjunctive-governed negative contexts remained error-prone even among advanced-stage learners. The longitudinal data confirm that Yoruba transfer effects are most pronounced at early stages, diminishing significantly in the third year of instruction. The study proposes a pedagogical sequencing model for French negation instruction aligned with the observed developmental progression. Keywords: French negation, acquisition sequence, Yoruba speakers, longitudinal study, Ogun State