Interference

Definition

In research on second language acquisition and language contact, the term interference refers to the influence of one language (or variety) on another in the speech of bilinguals who use both languages.

"Those instances of deviation from the norms of either language which occur in the speech of bilinguals as a result of their familiarity with more than one language, i.e. as a result of language contact, will be referred to as INTERFERENCE phenomena." (Weinreich 1953:1)

Interference can take place at all levels of the linguistic system, i.e. in phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and the lexicon.

Comments

The influence of one language on another in the speech of bilinguals is relevant both to the field of second language acquisition (where the interference from the learner's native language is studied) and to the field of historical linguistics (where the effects of interference on language change are studied).

In the context of second language acquisition, interference may lead to either negative transfer (transfer which results in non-target-like use of L2) or positive transfer (transfer resulting in target-like use of L2). ‘’’Interference’’’ is mostly (and sometimes exclusively) used for instances of negative transfer, and the two terms are often regarded as synonyms. Recently, many researchers investigating second language acquisition have observed that interference carries a negative connotation and have therefore increasingly tended to avoid it, preferring the term transfer instead.

Historical linguists have generally focused on languages rather than speakers, and have used the term interference in a different, historical sense. However, since the term contact-induced change has now widely established itself, interference is no longer common in historical linguistics.

There is a verb that is derivationally related to the noun interference, i.e. (to) interfere (e.g. "The phonology of the speaker's native language interferes with the use of the second language").

Polysemy

Interference can refer to the influence on one language on another in speech (as in second language acquisition research), or to the influence of one language on another in language change (as in historical linguistic research) (see interference (i.e. contact-induced change)). In some contexts, the term may be used in a vague sense that is neutral between the two readings.

Origin

The term became well-known through Weinreich's influential (1953) book Languages in contact. Weinreich used the term in both senses (interference in speech and interference in language change).

Reference

• Ammon, Ulrich, Dittmar, Norbert and Mattheier, Klaus J. 2004. Sociolinguistics – An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society. 2., vollständig neu bearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
• Ellis, Rod. 1986. Understanding Second Language Acquisition. 2nd, improved edition. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
• Ellis, Rod. 1997. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. 5th, improved edition. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
• Ellis, Rod. 1998. Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Jarvis, Scott and Pavlenko, Aneta. 2008. Crosslinguistic Influence in Language and Cognition. New York: Routledge.
• Kerr, J. 1988. A study of the identification of instances of language transfer and interference in samples of writing and speech. Queensland Researcher 4(1). 4-22.
• Nemser, William. 1991. Language Contact and Foreign Language Acquisition. In: Ivir, Vladimir. 1991. Languages in Contact and Contrast: Essays in Contact Linguistics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 345-364.
• Odlin, Terence. 1989. Language Transfer: Cross-Linguistic Influence in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Ringbom, Håkan. 2007. Cross-Linguistic Similarity in Foreign Language Learning. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
• Ritchie, William C. 1996. Handbook of Second Language Acquisition. San Diego: Academic Press.
• Saville-Troike, Muriel. 2006. Introducing Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
• Schröder, Ulrike. 2007. Holistische und integrative Tendenzen in der Zweitspracherwerbsforschung.
• Sharwood Smith, Michael. 1996. Crosslinguistic Influence with Special Reference to the Acquisition of Grammar. In: Jordens, Peter. 1996. Investigating Second Language Acquisition. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 71-86.
• Swan, Michael and Smith, Bernard. 1988. Learner English – A Teacher’s Guide to Interference and Other Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Weinreich, Uriel. 1953. Languages in contact. New York.
• Wendt, Michael. 1993. Die drei Dimensionen der Lernersprache. Tübingen: Narr.

other languages

German Interferenz