1. Ferdinand de Saussure's langue refers to the abstract, systematic rules and conventions of a language system shared by a community, while parole is the actual act of speaking or writing, the concrete manifestation of language use. Noam Chomsky's competence is an idealized native speaker's unconscious knowledge of their language, including its grammar and rules, whereas performance is the actual use of language in concrete situations, which can be affected by non-linguistic factors like memory or distractions.
Both pairs distinguish between the abstract system of language and its concrete use. Saussure's langue and Chomsky's competence both represent the underlying knowledge or system of language. Similarly, parole and performance both refer to the observable output of language. However, Saussure's langue is a social product, a collective norm, while Chomsky's competence is an individual, innate mental capacity. Chomsky's performance explicitly accounts for errors and external factors, which Saussure's parole does not emphasize as much, focusing more on the individual act of speaking within the system.
2. Yes, there is a difference between Foreign Language Learning and Second Language Learning.
Foreign Language Learning* typically occurs in an environment where the target language is not the primary language spoken in the community or country. For example, learning French in an English-speaking country.
Second Language Learning* occurs in an environment where the target language is widely spoken and used for daily communication in the community or country. For example, an immigrant learning English in the United States.
The key difference lies in the context of learning and the exposure to the target language outside the classroom.
3. The synchronic study of language examines a language at a particular point in time, without considering its historical development. It focuses on how a language functions in its current state, analyzing its grammar, phonology, and semantics as they exist now. The diachronic study of language, also known as historical linguistics, investigates the evolution of a language over time. It traces changes in sounds, grammar, and vocabulary across different historical periods to understand how languages develop and transform.
4. Interlanguage is the linguistic system developed by a second language learner who is in the process of acquiring the target language. It is a dynamic and evolving system that contains elements from both the learner's native language and the target language, as well as unique features not found in either. Fossilization refers to the phenomenon where certain linguistic forms or errors in a learner's interlanguage become permanently fixed and resistant to further change or correction, despite continued exposure to the target language and instruction.
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