Perspectives from second-language acquisition

Abstract

My aim in the final two chapters is to develop two perspectives which will assist in an understanding of many of the characteristics of SAIE. The dialect will be viewed not as a reified finished product, but as an evolving dynamic system. This chapter will examine the nature of second-language acquisition, while the next will explore the SAIE continuum in terms of notions fruitfully developed within the field of pidgin and Creole studies. The two views overlap to some extent, and the applicability of models constructed within creolistics is still a live issue in second-language acquisition (SLA) studies.