It is generally (and sensibly) thought that a native speaker knows her language better than would a foreign speaker. But paradoxically, there are many features of language that give the foreign speaker the upper hand––at least when it comes to understanding how the language is spoken. The Kenstowicz article explains one such situation, in which many dramatically different sounds (in this case, allophones) fall under the same phonological category. This variation is automatic and often goes unnoticed by a native speaker but would need to be learned by the foreign speaker, which raises the question: in his heightened awareness of linguistic details, does the foreign speaker "know" the language better than the native speaker? I remember having a related experience when my Mandarin Chinese teacher mentioned English verb tenses for which I had never learned the names. It feels strange to think that someone who has learned a language in a classroom setting could know a language better than a native speaker, but in some respects––or under some definitions of "know"–– maybe it is true!
An unrelated question: the Gussenhoven article closes with a discussion of "feet" and claims that English is a left-footed language. The two-footed word "celebration" supports this classification, but a word like "imply" does not. What does it mean to be a left-footed or right-footed language?
While I'm not sure it can be said that foreign speakers "know" a language better since native speakers will have more experience, I completely agree that perspective is extremely important in fully comprehending a language. Foreign speakers see their second language in a light that perhaps native speakers will never understand. I think this concept also applies to native speakers who have learned a second language; in learning the another tongue, a native speaker comes to view her first language in a different light. As a bilingual, native-English speaker, I am constantly pointing out the quirks of the English language to my monolingual parents.
ReplyDeleteRegarding feet, this article may help you: http://clas.mq.edu.au/speech/phonetics/phonology/syllable/syll_foot.html. I think that while there are exceptions, English generally abides by the left-footed rule and thus is considered a dominant left-foot language.