The native speaker as the model of pragmatic norm: its characterization and implications in interlanguage pragmatics

Abstract

This article presents a critical discussion of the characterization and implications of the concept of the native speaker as used in interlanguage pragmatics (ILP). After a critical review of a series of articles in ILP, it was possible to conclude that the native speaker and the pragmatic norm they represent are not defined explicitly, despite their central role in this discipline. However, the following characteristics can be inferred: i) the pragmatic norm is one and it is homogenous, ii) this norm has clear representatives at the pragmatic level, iii) the native speaker possesses a superior pragmatic competence, and iv) the pragmatic norm is an ideal expressed in the pragmatic behavior of native speakers. It was also possible to identify the consequences this has had in the negative evaluation of learners’ pragmatic behavior. In this respect, the common ideas that learners’ pragmatic behavior is a source of pragmatic failure and that the native speaker model is the only valid benchmark when evaluating learners’ pragmatic performance are questioned.