The Basic Variety (or: Couldn't Natural Languages Be Much Simpler?).

Klein, Wolfgang; Perdue, Clive

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Peer reviewed

ERIC Number: EJ557051

Record Type: CIJE

Publication Date: 1997

Pages: N/A

Abstractor: N/A

ISBN: N/A

ISSN: ISSN-0267-6583

EISSN: N/A

The Basic Variety (or: Couldn't Natural Languages Be Much Simpler?).

Klein, Wolfgang; Perdue, Clive

Second Language Research, v13 n4 p301-47 Oct 1997

Discusses the implications of the tendency of adult second-language learners to develop a well-structured, simple form of language outside the classroom, i.e. the Basic Variety (BV). Focuses on the structural properties of the BV, the status of these properties and the reasons why some structural properties of "fully fledged" languages are more complex. (77 references) (Author/CK)

Descriptors: Adults, Basic Vocabulary, Grammar, Language Processing, Language Role, Language Usage, Language Variation, Modern Languages, Oral Language, Second Language Learning, Structural Analysis (Linguistics), Vocabulary Development

Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive

Education Level: N/A

Audience: N/A

Language: English

Sponsor: N/A

Authoring Institution: N/A

Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

Note: Special issue: Introducing the Basic Variety. For related articles, see FL 527 661-664.