Interlanguage in Context

Interlanguage in Context z Communication Strategies

z Interlanguage Variation

z Interlanguage

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Langue and Parole Langue and Parole

z “Langue is a well-defined object in the z “What part does parole play in the same heterogeneous mass of facts of parole. community? It is the sum of what people say ... It is the social side of language, and includes (a) individual combinations that depend on the will of speakers, and (b) equally outside the individual who can never willful phonational acts that are necessary for create nor modify it by himself; it exists the execution of these combinations. Parole is only by virtue of a sort of contract signed thus not a collective instrument; its by members of a community.” manifestations are individual and momentary.” z — Ferdinand de Saussure z — Ferdinand de Saussure

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Competence and Performance Competence and Performance

z “Linguistic theory is concerned primarily with z “The fact that important and significant an ideal speaker-listener, in a perfectly linguistic behavior can be non-systematic, not homogeneous speech-community, who knows predictable by rule and without regular norms, its language perfectly and is unaffected by makes it all the more important to look for such grammatically irrelevant conditions as empirical evidence of a … The use of memory limitations, distractions, shifts of a form of language for communication does attention and interest, and errors (random or not make it automatic that it forms a system … characteristic) in applying his knowledge of the the degree of systematicity is an empirical language in actual performance.” matter.“ z — Noam Chomsky z — William Labov

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1 Variation in English Variation in English

z Geographical variation in the lexicon: z New Yorkers vary in their pronunciation z Schlep and hush puppy of postvocalic (r) z Variation vs. variability z New York [nu: jo:k] or [nu: jork] z See-saw vs. teeter totter z What variation have you noticed … z Fourth Floor [fo:θ flo:] or [forθ flor] z In the lexicon? z In pronunciation? z New Yorkers’ variation in (r) is z In grammar? systematic

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Variation in Interlanguage Variation in Interlanguage Morphology Morphology

z Jennifer: ... I think because my brother . a . hate girls when z Mary: The store is . a . just sells all the he was a books for Christian. z Yun-yun: Really? ... z Jennifer: Mm . was terrib- . he she . z Mary: All Chinese . all the book is have he's very strange I mean he to ship from Taiwan . because . you know he was in the they didn't have the store. high school he wouldn't talk to girl you know ...

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Variation in Interlanguage Explaining Interlanguage Variation Morphology

z Errors in production of plural (s) z Eva: And second problem . represent “a slip on the part of the Many Catholics was . learner, whose knowledge of the correct dissident. form is obvious from the fact that he does not omit the plural ending z Richard: Dissidents. consistently but only in some instances.”

z Eva: Dissidents. z Libuse Dušková (1984)

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2 Interlanguage co-varies with Explaining Interlanguage Variation linguistic context

z Interlanguage co-varies with linguistic context. z Lonna Dickerson z Interlanguage variation is an indication of z ‘The learner's learners’ stage of acquisition. interlanguage as a z Learners style shift in the L2 in the same way system of variable they style shift in the L1. rules’ z Interlanguage co-varies with the task that z TESOL Quarterly, 9, learners are performing. 401-407, 1975. z There are multiple factors that influence interlanguage variation.

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Japanese learners’ pronunciation of IL variation is an indication of (r) varies with linguistic context learners’ stage of acquisition

100 z Elizabeth Gatbonton 90 80 z ‘Patterned phonetic variability in second 70 60 language speech: A gradual diffusion 50 model’ 40 30 z Canadian Modern Language Review, 34, 20 10 335-347, 1978. 0 Cons__Mid Vowel Free Speech Dialogue Word List Cons__High Vowel Reading Reading

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French Canadians’ French Canadians’ pronunciation of English (th) pronunciation of English (th)

The Acquisition Phase The Replacement Phase

Stage Environment1 Environment2 Environment3 Stage Environment Environment Environment A Ø Ø Ø 1 2 3 E 1 (V) (V) B (V) Ø Ø F 1 1 (V) C (V) (V) Ø G 1 1 1 D (V) (V) (V)

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3 Learners style shift in the L2 in the Thai learners’ pronunciation of (r) in same way they style shift in the L1 English

z Leslie Beebe z ‘Sociolinguistic Speech Style variation and style shifting in acquisition’ Conversation Listing z Language Learning, Initial (r) 48% 9% 30, 433-448, 1980.

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Thai learners’ pronunciation of (r) in Interlanguage co-varies with the English task that learners are performing

z Elaine Tarone Speech Style z ‘Variability in interlanguage use: A study of style-shifting Conversation Listing in morphology and Initial (r) 48% 9% syntax’ z Language Learning, Final (r) 35% 72% 35, 373-404, 1985.

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Interlanguage co-varies with the Explaining Interlanguage Variation task that learners are performing

100 z Interlanguage co-varies with linguistic context. z Interlanguage variation is an indication of 80 learners’ stage of acquisition. 60 NL = Arabic z Learners style shift in the L2 in the same way NL = Japanese they style shift in the L1. 40 z Interlanguage co-varies with the task that 20 learners are performing.

0 z There are multiple factors that influence Grammar Test Interview Narrative interlanguage variation.

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4 Explaining Interlanguage Variation

z Every time a speaker makes a choice of a word, a phrase, a structure, a pronunciation it influences or even determines other choices. When we add to these purely linguistic considerations the interactions between language and context, the complexity becomes very great. To work out the influences on some particular choice, we must do … multivariate analysis.

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