Re: About "native" speakers
※ 引述《kimichen (kimi)》之銘言：
: I read something about "native" speakers and would like to share with you.
: Many Taiwanese people like to refer to people who are from English speaking
: countries as "native" English speakers.
The term "native English speakers" is commonly used
in countries where English is the [official/dominant] language.
: Actually this word is very "tricky". Let me put it this way. Have you ever
: thought that you are a native Mandarin speaker? Probably very rarely.
However, to those whose mother tongue is not Mandarin Chinese,
people who speak Mandarin Chinese as their first language are
considered native Mandarin speakers.
: From the articles I read, it suggests us using "English as first language
: speakers" instead of "native speaker".
The proposed term is too long and redundant. Further, by simply
employing a new term, it will not make you a native or less
non-native.
: "Native" is a legacy of "colonist
: eras". Because by using this word, no matter how good your English is. You
: would be always non-native.
What defines a person's linguistic "nativeness"?
Among many other things, it's about how well you command the
language in question, in terms of seeing the world through that
language. Language to an extent determines mind and influences
a person's world view, and vice versa. You also need to have a
solid grasp of the cultural/historical/social context in which
that language is used/developed and has been shaped.
I've seen persons whose mother tongues are not Mandarin Chinese
speak the language as if it were their first. I don't see the
problem referring them as "native Mandarin speakers."
Natalie Portman is a native English speaker, yet the first
language she learnt at home was Hebrew.
: It is kind of stupid to exlude ourselves and give
: a person from an English speaking country superiority over us regardless of
: his real English ability.
By this statement, you seem to be implicitly stating that
"native [English] speakers are not allowed to make grammatical/
linguistic mistakes; and once they have made such a mistake,
they lose their credibility (or linguistic capital) of being
native [English] speakers."
Yet, even among the so-called "native English speakers",
contestations with regards to language usages (in the broadest
sense) are common and can sometimes be fierce.
Further, I do not agree with the use of "superiority" here
and the application of the idea of colonialism, for you and
your ancestors were never colonized by the British empire:
China was never a colony; with regards to the case of Taiwan,
it was colonised by Japan (and arguably, China, depending on how
you want to look at the issue). The whole issue here is not
about whether "native" English speakers are superior to persons
of ESL (or, to put another way, it's not about whether persons
of ESL are inferior to "native" English speakers).
Do you think a person can lose his/her essence--in this
case, being a native English speaker--simply by committing
linguistic errors?
"Real English ability" is a rather confusing expression. What
do yo mean by "real"? And how do you measure it, in relative of
and in terms of what?
If you committ a grammatical/linguistic error when you speak/
write in Mandarin Chinese, does that jeopardize your status as
a native Mandarin speaker?
--
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,
"It means just what I choose it to mean--neither more or less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different
things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master--that's all."
--
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◆ From: 74.98.239.53
※ 編輯: finavir 來自: 74.98.239.53 (02/02 14:40)
※ 編輯: finavir 來自: 74.98.239.53 (02/02 14:42)
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