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The negative "ne" particle in the greater Paris region: a study in real time Responding to the need to carry out studies in real time in order to deal with the question of linguistic change, this research deals with the ne of the French negative. Two bodies of socio-linguistic interviews are compared: those recorded by Péretz-Juillard in Paris in 1972-74 and those recorded by Hansen in the greater Paris region (1989-93) and Malderez in the Oise region (1992-93). The study confirms the progressive disappearance of the ne of the negative form in informal oral French. We hesitate to conclude too hastily as to its definitive loss, however, for other signs point to the fact that the particle represents an important socio-linguistic resource for speakers, and that it is still fairly frequent in certain specific linguistic contexts.