"Native speaker" in job description

[Richard Robin]

At 13:12 03.04.97 -0600, Matt Tittle wrote:
"Is it legal for a job description to designate that a candidate must be
a "native" speaker of the language to be taught (as with the Rutgers
position posted today)?"

I think they are probably trying to avoid the "near native" syndrome:
people as low as ACTFL Advanced calling themselves "near native." Even a
Distinguished speaker (ILR S-4) is discernibly not native. I suppose that
to observe all the legal niceties, one could write "native or
indistinguishable from native (ILR-S5). I certainly understand the need of
a department for a person with true native-speaker proficiency, especially
in cases where a department has need not only of a course coordinator but
also as an ENS-informant.

Richard Robin - http://gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~rrobin
German and Slavic Dept.
The George Washington University
WASHINGTON, DC 20052