5 Things that only a native-speaker can catch in a language test

Charlène Lequenne • sept. 18, 2018
Native speakers and tests

When working in the field of languages, there are questions that resurface again and again. Among those asked the most frequently: what is the difference between a native speaker and someone who is ‘completely’ bilingual?

Let me make this clear- the answer is still under debate, particularly in academia. So, just to be on the safe side, let’s avoid this question at the dinner table, and even more so in university language departments.

I will speak then from experience and the observations I’ve made throughout my professional life which bring me to the same conclusion…

A significant difference between the native-speaker and the ‘fluent bilingual’ remains- a difference that cannot be erased by any language class, immersive experience or foreign romantic partner.

The native speaker has an inherent bonus, a kind of secret language superpower: she can spot the smallest subtleties of her language, those that even a C2-level bilingual could miss.

Here are five of the most persistent native-speaker subtleties.

1. Double entendres

A very advanced language proficiency is required to be able to distinguish between the double meanings that words or phrases carry in different contexts. Or, rather, to check that no double meaning exists!

We’ve all made an ‘oops’ like this, in which we think we’re correctly using a word in another language only to find out that we have said something with either vulgar, sexual, racist, taboo or insulting connotations…it’s definitely an embarrassing experience, and in the professional world, the consequences can be serious.

Let’s take the notorious “Ich bin ein Berliner” Kennedy example. At the time of its utterance, there was a great debate among the anglophone press (therefore non-native German speakers), in which some suggested that Kennedy said “I am a donut” rather than “I am a Berliner”.

In fact, the form that Kennedy used was correct. Native German-speakers were able to recognize, in contrast to the English-speaking media, that Kennedy chose his words carefully in order to avoid an unintended message that Berlin was his hometown, which could have been implied by “Ich bin Berliner”.

All this to say that only a native can defend their phrasing and prove that it was correctly chosen :)

2. The ‘non-musical’ speaker

Native speakers are familiar with the musicality of their language : when to take a breath, when to interject, when to add in fillers like “ um ”, “ quoi ”,” si pues ”… All of these little facets of language give it its real and authentic texture.

This rhythm and dance of language is one of the most difficult competencies to acquire when we learn a language, and errors and inconsistencies on this level are even harder to detect for us non-native speakers.

3. Things that just sound ‘weird’ together

Languages are in no way homogenous, and the miniscule differences between the ways they are spoken can cause indiscrepancies for a new learner.

Even if no two native-speakers can speak their language in the same exact way, (there’s definitely an idiosyncratic dimension to communication!), only the biggest differences in their verbal expression would be noticeable to a non-native speaker.

To a native anglophone, however, a mix of London idioms with phrases picked up from U.S. TV shows would seem weird, but most second-language English students would not perceive the friction.

4. Missing pieces in the cultural puzzle

Both students and teachers of foreign languages make the mistake of neglecting the cultural context of language. Language proficiency should not (and cannot) depend solely on grammar or syntax skills!

In effective communication, the pragmatics of the situation are just as important as the structure and semantics of a message. There is always a correlating cultural context that must be considered and studied in order to understand how our speech can be interpreted by others.

5. Regional variations in language and accent

When we learn a foreign language, we usually learn it in a specific context. In furthering our language level, we start to understand that accents and pronunciation can differ greatly from region to region (or even city to city!).

On a global scale, we can see an obvious example between British, American and Australian English, just to name a few. But if we look at English with a microscope, between Birmingham and Oxford, we’ll hear a middle-class ‘standard’ British English and an aristocratic ‘posh’ British English.

We naturally send information about ourselves when we speak our mother tongue: where we are from, which social class we belong to, our level of education, our cultural background, etc.

A native speaker knows which accent usually corresponds to which city or social class, for instance, and is therefore generally better-equipped to discern this info.

So there you have it- five features of language of which, try as we might, we may not ever be able to match up to a native speaker’s level. But that’s okay! We keep learning, keep studying, keep communicating, and keep forging meaningful cross-cultural connections.

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