Language Attrition The Intellectual and Social Context of Language Attrition (original) (raw)
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The growing interest in language attrition over the past twenty-five years cannot be explained solely on the basis of the fact that most of us are in one way or another affected by the phenomenon.
Losing a language in childhood: a longitudinal case study on language attrition
Journal of Child Language, 2014
L2 migration background (Germany) and moved to the country of origin (Portugal) at the age of nine, experiencing a dominance shift from the L2 to the L1. The study aims to analyze effects of language loss in L2 German. Data collection started three weeks after the child's immersion in the Portuguese setting and ended 18 months later. Results show first effects of language attrition after five months of reduced exposure to German; 18 months later the informant showed severe word retrieval difficulties and was unable to produce complete sentences in her L2. The findings thus confirm the conclusions of other studies on child language attrition, which attest to strong effects of attrition when the loss of contact with the target language occurs in childhood.
Types and Hypotheses of Language Attrition
TESOL Arabia , 2016
The phenomenon of language attrition has been an issue of interest to researchers within the field of applied linguistics. This paper aims to examine what is meant by language attrition, whether it is language modification, shift, or simply loss. This paper also highlights four language attrition types: (1) loss of L1 in L1 environment; (2) loss of L1 in L2 environment; (3) loss of L2 in L1 environment; and (4) loss of L2 in L2 environment. Furthermore, the paper sheds light on the key hypotheses that attempt to explain how language is lost: the regression hypothesis, the activation threshold hypothesis, and the inter-language or interference hypothesis.
L1 attrition in an L2 environment
2011
The main focus of this study was on finding out whether first language attrition can be observed in adults after they have migrated to a country where a language other than their original is spoken. For this purpose a 35 year--old Russian woman (E) was chosen, who migrated to Germany when she was 18 years old and has lived there ever since.
First Language Attrition and Second Language Acquisition in a Second Language Environment.
2011
Taking a dynamic, multi-competence view of bilingualism, this thesis is concerned with the outcomes of the parallel processes of first language maintenance and second language acquisition in adult bilinguals placed in a second language environment. In a mixed between-group/within-group design, 27 German late bilinguals resident in Ireland (mean LOR = 19.5 years), and two matching control groups of 18 Irish and 20 German L2 users were tested on an extensive test battery of parallel German and English language tests, which also comprised a linguistic aptitude test and sociolinguistic questionnaires. The thesis presents a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the proficiency data from the between-group attrition and attainment studies on measures of complexity, accuracy and fluency. Results indicate that the bilingual group performs both similarly and dissimilarly to the respective control groups, though the group differences are larger in the attainment study. There is large inter-individual variability across all three groups, but it is most pronounced in the bilingual group, where in both studies some participants perform outside the native-speaker range provided by the control groups. There is thus evidence of both L1 attrition and native-like (as measured by this test battery) L2 attainment. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge in distinct linguistic subfields, by drawing together perspectives from L1 attrition, L2 acquisition and dynamic approaches to bilingualism.
When does second language learning lead to first language attrition?
Communication & Cognition, 2023
Nowhere is the discussion on the relationship between competence and performance more interesting than in the research on bilingualism. Fortuitously, it is in this field of language acquisition and language learning where proponents of both Universal Grammar and Usage-Based approaches have found space for discussion on a number of language contact phenomena. This dialogue parallels a similar coincidence in the study of literacy learning. On this point, a new proposal for research on second language learning and first language attrition appears to fundamentally redefine basic concepts in the field. This response counters that future research will be best served by continuing to apply current conceptions until the discussion of research findings presents a new framework. In addition, a better understanding of language attrition will benefit from an exchange among researchers who work within the framework of different theoretical models. In the end, the exchange will contribute to better understanding the concept of Language Faculty, beginning with an open-ended discussion.
Second Language Loss: Potential Linguistic and Sociolinguistic Effects
In this review, we elaborated on the main issues in the literature related to language attrition in general and second language attrition in particular. This review includes two parts. The first section outlines the general hypotheses concerning the nature of second language attrition and then reviews generally agreed-upon findings regarding the linguistic and sociolinguistic effects of second language attrition. In the course of the review we compared the findings with a subject named Gerannaz who had experienced attrition some years ago and was able return to its initial state to some extent through prolonged practice. Many of the research findings were supported, however variations were perceived.
First Language Attrition in the Native Environment
2014
First language (L1) attrition is the disintegration of a first language as a result of second language domination. Even though L1 attrition literature on adult immigrants is abundant, little is known of people going through attrition in the native environment, particularly children. Similarly, though there is rich literature on other linguistic elements there is not much on phonetics and phonology. This paper argues for L1 attrition in the native environment by children who attend private English-medium schools for whom English is a dominant language, a language they acquired as a second language, like those in Botswana. The language situation in Botswana where English is afforded the high and prestigious status immensely contributes to the situation. In addition to reviewing literature on L1 attrition in phonetics, the paper offers an overview discussion of the language situation in Botswana as well as the Setswana penultimate syllable, a phonetic element from which L1 attrition ca...