Never Quite a ‘Native Speaker’: Accent and Identity in the L2 - and the L1

Abstract

The examination of identity issues in learning a second language has recently become a focus issue in SLA research and especially in the field of sociocultural linguistics, which seeks to examine not only how languages are learned, but also the context in which learning takes place and the individual involved. This study addresses the question of L2 (second language) and C2 (second culture) acquisition by focusing on identity, and specifically on one particular aspect, the appropriation of accent. A first-person account of identity phenomena in learning a second language, it seeks to explain changes in the L2 accent - and later also in the L1 accent - applying the metaphor of self-translation as a general framework for explaining processes of L2 learning and L1 loss, and the construction and reconstruction of learner identity.