Essay on Linguistics

Introduction

In this text, Gillian Lord is talking about the challenges students or adults face while learning or acquiring a new language, or what he refers to as the Second Language. According to him, Second Language speakers (L2) are mainly influenced to a certain degree by their First Language (L1). He has given examples of English and Spanish speakers either as their First or Second language. He says that a person who speaks English with outstanding proficiency in Spanish could articulate Spanish with English attributes, and they would speak English words less English-like than a speaker who can speak both fluently. He also noted that phonology changes in second language acquisition. Gillian also noted that age is a crucial factor in advancing the phonetic group. English speakers who learn when young or at an early age are more likely to develop a phonetic category for English than those who learn later in life. He presented experiments and more research conducted by different authors stipulating the same.

Discussion

The author mainly addresses the issue concerning acquiring a second language. Which, according to him, is mainly influenced by the First Language, especially when it comes to pronunciation and phonology. In his text, he asserts clear, detailed pronunciation guide could aid them in controlling these challenges (Gonzalez Bueno 1997). According to the author, some speakers may lose their First Language due to becoming members of bilingual communities, especially those who may decide to reside within the community (Armour 2000).

The main general argument of the author is that when acquiring the second language, the first language plays a role in influencing the second language in that, an English who is learning Spanish, their Spanish will be more of English than Spanish itself, especially in terms of pronunciation and sounds (Lisker, Abramson 1964). The author has made several assumptions, including losing their first language due to second language proficiency. In that, the more proficient you get with the second language, the more you lose the characteristics of the first language (Major 1990). He also assumes those who obtain a second language as adults will be unable to conserve native-like pronunciation in the first and the second language.

The author has presented several pieces of evidence to support his argument concerning his work. He has used experiments to test the VOT values in English and Spanish speakers. He concludes by saying that the participants experimented on were able to experience a degree of merger between the first language and the second language, pronouncing both languages differently than monolingual speakers. (Flege 1987).

To begin with, the author has used experiments and well-conducted research from several authors, which makes his work well detailed and easier to understand the concepts discussed. However, some weaknesses noted include the predictions and hypotheses used, which have not yet been experimented. For example, Major predicted that proficiency in the second language might lead to the loss of the first language. There is also little evidence in Merger Hypothesis to confirm a learner’s second language influence on the present first language system. The experiment was only able to show the difference in pronunciations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the author has concentrated on the effects of the First Language on the Second Language, especially on pronunciation and phonology. In this text, he has also stipulated that being proficient in the second language might lead to the loss of the first language, especially for those residing in second language communities. He also says that most research focuses on the people who lose their first language due to being a member of a bilingual community and living in a second language community. Only a few studies research second language speakers that remain in first language communities.

References

Flege, J. E. (1987). The production of “new” and “similar” phones in a foreign language: Evidence for the effect of equivalence classification. Journal of phonetics, 15(1), 47-65.

Flege, J. E. (1995). Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research, 92, 233-277.

Lisker, L., & Abramson, A. S. (1971). Distinctive features and laryngeal control. Language, 767-785.

González-Bueno, M. (1998). The effects of electronic mail on Spanish L2 discourse. Language Learning & Technology, 1(2), 55-70.