Browsing by Author "Mauko, Ida"

The native speaker is a contentious linguistic concept, and since there has yet to be a consensus on its definition, the perspectives surrounding the concept are diverse and sometimes conflicting. This is nowhere more visible than in the debate on the native English speaker (NES). Countries such as the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand are unquestionably considered home to NESs; however, the population of some Caribbean countries also speaks English as their first language, and furthermore, today s ESL (English as a second language) countries contain an increasing number of people for whom English is a dominant language in their everyday life. The unfamiliarity of most laypeople with the complexity of the NES concept can thus lead to misconceptions of some speakers NES identity, as well as to linguistic discrimination. The main aim of this study, therefore, has been to explore native and non-native English speaker (NNES) identity constructs from both a personal perspective (self-ascribed identity) and a societal one (non-elective identity). These were subsequently compared and contrasted in order to provide a comprehensive picture of the most significant linguistic and social factors for different NES conceptualisations. Since previous research on the concept predominantly focused only on one perspective or definition of the NES, this study has taken a more complex approach, by utilising two distinct datasets and methods. The method used to explore self-ascribed NES/NNES identities was a formal interview, which explored the interviewees social and linguistic background as well as their views on the native speaker concept. The non-elective NES constructs were analysed through a survey, which contained audio samples of the interviewees spoken English. These samples were played to Finnish university students, who were then asked to classify individual speakers as NES or NNES, to rate their accent, vocabulary, grammar, confidence and intelligibility, and to guess the speakers origin. The significance of the speech factors and the perceived country/area of origin in predicting NES classification was first explored through comparative data charts, after which it was statistically analysed by using a binary logistic regression model in SPSS. Results revealed discrepancies between self-ascribed and non-elective NES identity, and several instances proved particularly significant: Firstly, in the case of an EFL (English as a foreign language) speaker who had never lived in an English-speaking country, the fact that she possessed an American accent contributed greatly to her being largely considered a NES. Secondly, a speaker whose mother tongue and dominant language was English, but who was from the Caribbean and thus possessed a foreign-sounding accent, was third lowest in being classified as a NES. Thirdly, speakers from ESL countries were lowest in NES classification despite personally identifying as NES. Considering that the statistical analysis indicated speakers accent and perceived origin to be the most significant predictors of NES classification, it can be concluded that a native English speaker is still being conceptualised primarily as someone who comes from a dominant English-speaking country and thus possesses a relevant accent. Persons from any lesser-known English-speaking countries and ESL countries therefore sound foreign , become excluded from this concept, and may find their NES identity challenged.