This study explores the enunciative and sociolinguistic dimensions of causal expression in spoken French by analysing the connectors du fait que and vu que in the ESLO oral corpus. It argues that subjectivity is central to differentiate their discursive functions. By marking enunciative parameters— subject, tense, and mood—the study shows that du fait que is largely restricted to objectivity, favoring factual causal relations and a low degree of speaker involvement. In contrast, vu que displays a broader functional range, allowing more subjectivity that supports inferential, and ironic readings, particularly in dialogic contexts. From a sociolinguistic perspective, the results reveal a clear micro-diachronic evolution: while du fait que undergoes a significant decline between ESLO1 and ESLO2, the frequency of vu que increases markedly. Synchronically, vu que predominates in spontaneous oral interaction and among younger speakers, whereas du fait que remains associated with older generations and more formal registers. These patterns indicate that the expression of causality in spoken French cannot be reduced to a purely logical relation between propositions. Rather, it emerges as a dynamic enunciative process that is socially situated and subjectively indexed, pointing to a broader trend toward increased subjectivation in causal expression in oral French.
Christophe Mitchito Darmon (Mon,) studied this question.