Zingaretti, Mattia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5565-2538 (2017) On nativeness and near-nativeness: An analysis of the implications of convergence between L1 attriters and L2 speakers. Masters thesis, University of Edinburgh.

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Abstract

The present work scrutinises the topic of (near-)nativeness in Applied Linguistics (AL) and Second Language Acquisition Research (SLAR). Specifically, not only is it difficult to find a one-size-fits-all definition for the native speaker from a sociolinguistic perspective (Davies 2003, 2013), but there is also enough evidence to reconsider the monolingual native speaker used as a model for comparison in SLAR, in light of the results of L1 attrition studies: Firstly, research demonstrates that the L1 system of a bilingual speaker is influenced by the advanced knowledge of an L2 (Seliger 1991; Altenberg 1991; Chamorro et al. 2016a, 2016b); secondly, some studies point to convergence between L1 attriters and very proficient L2 learners (Tsimpli et al. 2004; Sorace and Filiaci 2006; Belletti, Bennati and Sorace 2007). The very fact that the L1 system can be rendered unstable by L2 acquisition, and that there seems to be a parallelism between L1 attrition and L2 acquisition, is used as a basis for suggesting that the traditional (monolingual) native speaker does seem to be a myth in both AL and SLAR fields, and that a bilingual native speaker model should be used as an alternative benchmark for future research.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Status:	Unpublished
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics > P 115 Bilingualism P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages P Language and Literature > PC Romance languages P Language and Literature > PD Germanic languages P Language and Literature > PE English
School/Department:	School of Education, Language and Psychology
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/8987

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