An attempt to isolate, and then differentiate, transfer and interference

Abstract

Transfer/interference has a long history in bilingualism research with moments of clear interest and moments of disregard. We are currently entering a period of renewed interest. In the first part of this article, it is argued that the only way to isolate transfer/interference from other contact phenomena such as code-switching and borrowing is to put bilingual speakers in a strictly monolingual language mode. In the second part, an attempt is made to differentiate between static and dynamic transfer/interference. It is suggested that we use the term ‘transfer’ for static phenomena which reflect permanent traces of one language (La) on the other (Lb), and that we use the term ‘interference’ for dynamic phenomena which are elements of the other language(s) which slip into the output of the language being spoken or written. According to this view, interferences are linked to processing. A way of differentiating empirically between transfer and interference is described. It is a byproduct of a study conducted at the University of Neuchâtel which was aimed at getting a better understanding of restructuring in an L1, based on the long-term influence of an L2. In the third part of the article, two other studies are described which examined the comprehension of speech containing transfers/interferences.