Competence Differences Between Native and Near-Native Speakers

Do native and native-like non-native (i.e. near-native) speakers develop essentially identical underlying grammars of the same language? Results of extensive interviews indicate that native and near-native speakers of French have strikingly different intuitions on French sentences. In particular, the two groups have markedly divergent interpretations of sentences involving basic grammatical contrasts such as the two past tenses (imparfait and passé composé), the 3rd person pronouns il and ce , and the placement of the adjective before or after the noun. This is so in spite of the fact that the two groups appear to be equivalent at the level of language use and proficiency. These results provide a clear illustration of the relative independence of the two levels of language: on the one hand, language use, and on the other hand, underlying grammar as reflected by speakers' intuitions. It is suggested that the specific nature of the divergences between native and near-native speakers' underlying grammars also provides clues to the internal organization of language: in particular, the data indicate that near-native speakers diverge less from native speakers in formal features, such as those currently covered by studies in Universal Grammar, than in ‘functional’ or ‘cognitive’ aspects of grammar.