Native Speaker: Myth and Reality

Davies (emeritus professor, linguistics, U. of Edinburgh) examines the complexity of the knowledge and skills possessed by the native speaker of any language, and suggests that the complexity may be less exclusive, more ordinary and attainable by non-native speakers. Originally published as The Native Speaker in Applied Linguistics (1991), the new edition includes minor textual adjustments, and two new chapters—one on the challenge to the native speaker by World Englishes, post-modernism, and po…