Authors

Magdalena Kaltseis¹;  ¹ Universität Innsbruck, Austria

Discussion

The ‘native speaker’ is one of the core concepts in modern linguistics, traditionally associated with perceived authority, authenticity, and perfect language skills. These associations often stem from ideological assumptions, including ideas of linguistic purity, identity, and monolingualism. Despite extensive critiques of the concept, particularly in the English-speaking context, research on the ‘native speaker’ in other languages remains rare. This study, therefore, addresses this gap by examining language ideologies in the Russian (nositel’ iazyka) and Ukrainian (nosii movy) concepts of the ‘native speaker’, using critical discourse analysis of textbooks on teaching methodology and semi-structured interviews with teachers of these two languages. The study explores the ideological beliefs embedded in these concepts and examines potential differences between them. The findings will enhance understanding of language ideologies in education, particularly the beliefs held by teachers of Russian and Ukrainian.