On the Nature of Interlanguage Systems

This paper argues that the Interlanguage Hypothesis, as it is currently stated, lacks clear definitions of some of its most important characteristics. The central characteristics of ILs are examined. It is suggested that interlanguages (ILs) are natural languages, in the obvious sense, but that their grammar is peculiar in being permeable. This permeability of ILs explains why learners can transfer grammatical properties from their native language and why they can generalize or otherwise distort target language properties in an effort to communicate. Accepting this view of ILs forces the researcher to gather specific and copious data to support the hypotheses which may be proposed concerning the grammatical intuitions of any IL speaker. The relevance of this proposal to research strategies and the advantages of research with a more explicit notion of ILs are discussed.