Neuroimaging Perspectives on L1 Attrition and Language Change

2019 ◽  
pp. 165-177
Author(s):  
Eleonora Rossi ◽  
Yanina Prystauka ◽  
Michèle T. Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Change ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
L1 Attrition ◽  
Structural Aspects

This chapter discusses the neuroimaging literature on language attrition, and how functional and structural aspects of language(s) are modulated under various contact and attrition phenomena. It focuses on the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and neural oscillations in studies of language attrition, and how such methods might be used in the future to better understand changes in neural activity corresponding to changes in language. Seminal literature is discussed, describing studies that mapped language maintenance and language loss (i.e., the case of adoptees in Pallier et al., 2003; Ventureyra et al., 2004). The neuroimaging literature on bilingual language control is examined more generally, proposing that the functional and structural patterns of activation and change for the native language observed in experimental paradigms to understand bilingual language processing at large might be used as a test-bed to investigate the earliest stages of L1 attrition.

scholarly journals Does language loss follow a principled structural path? Evidence from Jersey Norman French

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-429
Author(s):  
MARI C. JONES
Keyword(s):  
Language Change ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Abstract Level ◽  
Level Model ◽  
Structural Path ◽  
Norman French ◽  
The Individual

ABSTRACTThis study examines contact-induced change in Jèrriais, the severely endangered Norman variety currently spoken by some 1% of the population of Jersey, one of the British Channel Islands. Today, English dominates all linguistic domains of island life, and all speakers of Jèrriais are bilingual. The analysis uses original data to test empirically whether Myers-Scotton's (2002) five theoretical assumptions about the structural path of language attrition (broadly defined as language loss at the level of the individual) also have relevance for the process of language obsolescence (broadly defined as language loss at the level of the community). It explores i) whether Jèrriais is undergoing contact influenced language change owing to its abstract grammatical structure being split and recombined with English, a hypothesis related to Myers-Scotton's Abstract Level model; and ii) whether different morpheme types of Jèrriais are related to the production process in different ways and are, accordingly, more or less susceptible to change during the process of language obsolescence, a hypothesis related to Myers-Scotton's 4-M model. In addition to its contribution to linguistic theory, this study increases existing knowledge about Jèrriais and makes data from this language available for systematic comparison with other languages.

Language Loss and Language Learning in Internationally Adopted Children

2019 ◽  
pp. 469-480
Author(s):  
Lara J. Pierce ◽  
Fred Genesee ◽  
Denise Klein
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Adopted Children ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
L2 Processing ◽  
L1 Attrition ◽  
Internationally Adopted Children ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Internationally Adopted

Internationally adopted (IA) children begin acquiring one language from birth (L1), but typically discontinue it in favour of their adoption language (L2). Language attrition occurs quickly with IA children unable to speak/understand their L1 within months of adoption. However, as adults IA test participants show certain advantages in this language compared to monolingual speakers never exposed to it, suggesting that certain elements of the L1 may be retained. Neuroimaging studies have found that IA participants exhibit brain activation patterns reflecting the retention of L1 representations and their influence on L2 processing. This chapter reviews research on L1 attrition in IA children, discussing whether/how elements of the L1 may be retained. It discusses how L1 attrition versus retention might influence subsequent language processing in the L1 and L2. Implications of language attrition versus retention patterns observed in IA participants for neuroplasticity and language acquisition are also discussed beyond this specific group.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of phonological language processing

NeuroImage ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. S437
Author(s):  
J.A. Frost ◽  
J.R. Binder ◽  
T.A. Hammeke ◽  
P.S. Bellgowan ◽  
J.A. Springer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging

scholarly journals Laminar Specific fMRI Reveals Directed Interactions in Distributed Networks During Language Processing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Sharoh ◽  
Tim van Mourik ◽  
Lauren J. Bains ◽  
Katrien Segaert ◽  
Kirsten Weber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Distributed Networks ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Noninvasive Technique ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Critical Regions

AbstractLaminar resolution, functional magnetic resonance imaging (lfMRI) is a noninvasive technique with the potential to distinguish top-down and bottom-up signal contributions on the basis of laminar specific interactions between distal regions. Hitherto, lfMRI could not be demonstrated for either whole-brain distributed networks or for complex cognitive tasks. We show that lfMRI can reveal whole-brain directed networks during word reading. We identify distinct, language critical regions based on their association with the top-down signal stream and establish lfMRI for the noninvasive assessment of directed connectivity during task performance.

Memory Retrieval and Language Attrition

2019 ◽  
pp. 87-97
Author(s):  
Jared A. Linck ◽  
Judith F. Kroll
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Memory Mechanism ◽  
Inhibitory Mechanisms ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Induced Forgetting ◽  
Multiple Languages

Being bilingual has consequences for lexical retrieval in either language, in some situations leading to reduced access to one of a bilingual’s languages—suggesting the possibility of language attrition. In this chapter, we consider how a general memory mechanism behind forgetting can inform the discussion of bilingual language control. In particular, we focus on retrieval induced forgetting (RIF), which is believed to be driven by inhibition. Research into the psycholinguistic mechanisms supporting bilingual language processing has similarly accumulated a growing body of evidence that inhibitory mechanisms play an important role in developing and maintaining proficiency in multiple languages. We consider whether the phenomenon of native language attrition in fact reflects language loss per se or instead reflects the dynamics of a highly-interactive language system that is constantly in flux.

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