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Nativization processes in L1 Esperanto

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2002

BENJAMIN K. BERGEN
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Abstract

The artificial language Esperanto is spoken not only as a second language, by its proponents, but also as a native language by children of some of those proponents. The present study is a preliminary description of some characteristics of the Native Esperanto (NE) of eight speakers, ranging in age from six to fourteen years. As such, it is the first of its kind – previous works on NE are either theoretical treatises or individual case studies. We find, at least for the eight subjects studied, both bilingualism and nativization effects, differentiating native from non-native Esperanto speech. Among these effects are loss or modification of the accusative case, phonological reduction, attrition of the tense/aspect system, and pronominal cliticization. The theoretical ramifications are discussed, particularly with regard to universals of language acquisition and the effects of expressive requirements of language.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , July 2001 , pp. 575 - 595
Copyright
2001 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I would like to thank the organizers of the Infana Kongreseto, especially Jean-François Passarella, for allowing me consult with these very charming Native Esperantophones, as well as Aline Voldoire and Antoinette Guigues for convincing me, reticent as I was, that Esperanto was worthy of linguistic study. Finally, John McWhorter, James Matisoff, Dan Slobin, and two anonymous reviewers provided invaluable feedback on this work. All mistakes, omissions, and the like are mine.