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The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars

In this paper we argue that Bley-Vroman’s Comparative Fallacy, which warns against comparisons between native speakers and learners in second-language acquisition (SLA) research, is not justified on either theoretical or methodological grounds and should be abandoned as it contravenes the explanator...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Domínguez, Laura, Arche, María J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8573097/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34759863
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.717635
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author Domínguez, Laura
Arche, María J.
author_facet Domínguez, Laura
Arche, María J.
author_sort Domínguez, Laura
collection PubMed
description In this paper we argue that Bley-Vroman’s Comparative Fallacy, which warns against comparisons between native speakers and learners in second-language acquisition (SLA) research, is not justified on either theoretical or methodological grounds and should be abandoned as it contravenes the explanatory nature of SLA research. We argue that for SLA to be able to provide meaningful explanations, grammatical comparisons with a baseline (usually of native speakers although not always the case) are not only justified but necessary, a position which we call the ‘Comparative Logic’. The methodological choices assumed by this position ensure that interlanguage grammars are analysed in their own right and respecting their own principles. Related issues, such as why we focus on the native speaker and why investigating deficits in linguistic-cognitive SLA is essential in our field are discussed as well.
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spelling pubmed-85730972021-11-09 The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars Domínguez, Laura Arche, María J. Front Psychol Psychology In this paper we argue that Bley-Vroman’s Comparative Fallacy, which warns against comparisons between native speakers and learners in second-language acquisition (SLA) research, is not justified on either theoretical or methodological grounds and should be abandoned as it contravenes the explanatory nature of SLA research. We argue that for SLA to be able to provide meaningful explanations, grammatical comparisons with a baseline (usually of native speakers although not always the case) are not only justified but necessary, a position which we call the ‘Comparative Logic’. The methodological choices assumed by this position ensure that interlanguage grammars are analysed in their own right and respecting their own principles. Related issues, such as why we focus on the native speaker and why investigating deficits in linguistic-cognitive SLA is essential in our field are discussed as well. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-10-25 /pmc/articles/PMC8573097/ /pubmed/34759863 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.717635 Text en Copyright © 2021 Domínguez and Arche. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Domínguez, Laura
Arche, María J.
The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars
title The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars
title_full The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars
title_fullStr The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars
title_full_unstemmed The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars
title_short The ‘Comparative Logic’ and Why We Need to Explain Interlanguage Grammars
title_sort ‘comparative logic’ and why we need to explain interlanguage grammars
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8573097/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34759863
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.717635
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