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A Native‐Like Ability to Circumlocute
Author(s) -
Jourdain Sarah
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/0026-7902.00061
Subject(s) - linguistics , set (abstract data type) , first language , psychology , comprehension , context (archaeology) , language proficiency , cognitive psychology , computer science , mathematics education , paleontology , philosophy , biology , programming language
The ability to circumlocute successfully is of utmost importance in compensating for gaps in lexical knowledge. Although all studies indicate that one’s ability to circumlocute increases with increasing proficiency, it is interesting that little attention has been paid to those learners who have the greatest ability to circumlocute, native‐like speakers. This study addresses the norms of native and native‐like circumlocution. It expands the discussion of strategies involved in this skill to include the means by which speakers frame their message and thereby set the linguistic context for their listeners. Participants in this study, both native and native‐like speakers, were found to employ similar strategies while circumlocuting, including the use of synonyms, analogies, and descriptions. These participants also consistently framed their speech to facilitate listener comprehension, and they frequently included in their discourse some reference to their status as a nonexpert in the field. Similarities in native and native‐like circumlocution found in this study help to provide some empirical validation to the notion of “native‐like.”