Larry Selinker is
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
and former director of the university's English Language Institute.
In 1972, Selinker introduced the concept of ''
interlanguage
An interlanguage is an idiolect that has been developed by a learner of a second language (L2) which preserves some features of their first language (L1), and can also overgeneralize some L2 writing and speaking rules. These two characteristics ...
'', which built upon
Pit Corder
Stephen Pit Corder (6 October 1918 – 27 January 1990) was a professor of applied linguistics at Edinburgh University, known for his contribution to the study of error analysis. He was the first Chair of the British Association for Applied Lin ...
's previous work on the nature of language learners' errors. Corder's and Selinker's work became the foundation of modern research into
second-language acquisition
Second-language acquisition (SLA), sometimes called second-language learning — otherwise referred to as L2 (language 2) acquisition, is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the scientific dis ...
, and interlanguage is accepted as a basic principle of the discipline.
Education
Selinker received his B.A. from
Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
in 1959, where he studied
Near-Eastern studies. He received his M.A. from
The American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valle ...
in 1960, in the subject of linguistics.
Selinker studied at
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
for his doctorate, which he received in 1966.
Career
After completing his PhD, Selinker moved to the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, where he became assistant professor of linguistics and director of English for foreign students from 1966 to 1975. From 1968 to 1969 he was a
Fulbright scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, where he researched the
psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the interrelation between linguistic factors and psychological aspects. The discipline is mainly concerned with the mechanisms by which language is processed and represented in the mind ...
of second-language acquisition. He left Washington in 1975, when he earned a Fulbright scholarship at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
. In Jerusalem, Selinker focused on advanced reading for second-language learners. In 1976-1977 he taught at
San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...
.
Selinker moved to the University of Michigan in 1977, and he remained there until his retirement in 1993. During his time in Michigan he served as a visiting professor at
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
in 1991, and spent his third Fulbright scholarship at the
University of Kassel
The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 prof ...
in Germany in 1992.
Following his career at Michigan, Selinker was appointed to a chair at
Birkbeck College
Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...
, University of London. There he served a turn as Head of the Department of Applied Linguistics, taught second language acquisition and supervised student research - both undergraduate and postgraduate.
Interlanguage
Selinker's most well-known contribution to the field of second-language acquisition is the concept of interlanguage. He first introduced interlanguage in hi
1972 paperof the same name, which built on Pit Corder's 1967 article'' The Significance of Learners' Errors''. Selinker's paper only mentioned Corder's in passing, but it nevertheless advanced his basic argument.
The principle behind interlanguage theory is that the language of second-language learners is governed by systematic rules, and that these rules are different from those of the language being learned and from those of the learner's native language. Hence at every stage of learning, language learners do not merely copy what native speakers do, but create an entirely new language system unique to themselves. Selinker named this interim language system an ''interlanguage''.
In his 1972 paper, Selinker proposed that interlanguages have all the normal properties of
natural language
In neuropsychology, linguistics, and philosophy of language, a natural language or ordinary language is any language that has evolved naturally in humans through use and repetition without conscious planning or premeditation. Natural languages ...
s. In other words, they are systematic and bound by rules in the same manner as any other language. Furthermore, Selinker proposed that interlanguage is based on three basic principles: ''over-generalization'' from patterns found in the language being learned, ''transfer'' from patterns found in the learner's native language, and ''fossilization'', the phenomenon of a learner's language ceasing to develop.
References
External links
Larry Selinker at the University of Michigan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selinker, Larry
Linguists from the United States
University of Michigan faculty