Exploring the language ideology of nativeness in narrative accounts of English second language users in Montreal

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current study qualitatively examines 23 interviews with English second language users focusing on their lived experiences of communicating in the context of multicultural and multilingual interactions in Montreal. The interpretative phenomenological analysis of data reveals two superordinate themes: the idealized native speaker of English and ambivalent attitudes toward linguistic diversity which uncover the contested and shifting nature of language ideologies. The themes offer a narrative of the ideology of nativeness, intersecting with current studies in multilingual practices in globalized contexts. The authors suggest that the model of idealized native speech creates unrealistic expectations in English second language users regarding their own linguistic performance and their self-image as users of English. The study proposes the adoption of Lx speaker in order to challenge the monolingual bias inherent in the native and non-native speaker dichotomy.