[lit-ideas] "He's not a native speaker"
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2009 10:10:07 EDT
---
The idea of 'native' speaker is Chomskyan. He invented it early 1966. And
he was quoting "A. P. Grice", wrongly, by that time (in name index to his
"Aspects of the Theory of Syntax".
I claim that I would KNOW if, if I witness two people in a Thai bar,
talking to each other:
-- they are both native speakers.
without me understanding a word of what they are saying -- provided they
are talking in Thai, rather than, say, another language I may know more of.
SYMPTOMS:
face gestures
FLUENCY -- this is the most important thing -- no hesitation.
RHYTHM and speed
etc.
Ditto for English. I can VERY WELL detect the slightest of accent, which
to me disqualifies a person as a native speaker, never mind odd grammar.
This _is_ strange because you can do it with French, Italian, etc. I can
be with A. Palma (a native speaker of ONLY ITALIAN -- since he was born on
the Isle of Venice) and someone else he both know (Geary), and note that
Geary hesitates here and there, showing that he is not a native speaker of
Italian.
He says, "Okay -- I'm fed up. Let's switch to Mississippi Delta Southern
English."
And starts a logorrheic account of his latest sexual escapade.
Palma looks at me, and looks at Geary, and back at me, and says, "Lasciate
ogni speranza voi ch'entrate". I laugh so loud that some people do take me
for a native Italian!
Isn't life fun -- vita e bella.
J. L. Speranza
Bordighera, Buenos Aires, etc.
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