Differential Intra-Language Tolerance of Bilingual Interference.

Evaluation of a bilingual's proficiency in a second language (S) should consider the extent to which his performance is influenced by his competence in his native or primary language (P). An evaluation of proficiency in an S language should reflect the intuitions of S's native speakers. It is found that native speakers do not regard all instances of interference in S usage of their mother tongue as equally deviant from its P usage. This study looks at the nature and depth of interference in S Afrikaans usage by native English speakers, and the attitudes towards this interference. A differential tolerance of interference is described, applying to the phonological, syntactic, and lexical levels of Afrikaans. Cases of interference recognized as maximally deviant are of the low tolerance type, while minimally deviant cases are of the high tolerance type. Two principles underlie this differential tolerance: linguistic distance determines that the use of an element or rule not found in P usage will result in low tolerance interference, and vice-versa; stylistic connotation determines that interference coinciding with strongly marked stylistic or sociolinguistic variants in P usage will result in low tolerance, and vice-versa. The latter principle outweighs the former. (CLK)