A Complex Dynamic Systems Perspective on Personal Background Variables in L1 Attrition

This chapter discusses the methodological challenges associated with studying personal background variables in first language (L1) attrition from the perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). It starts with a review of extant research which, despite concerted efforts to design rigorous, comparable studies, to date has not turned up strong, unambiguous predictors for L1 attrition. I argue that this failure lies in the nature of language as a complex dynamic system, and consequently in the properties of variables, their interaction, and varying contribution to the process and outcome of L1 attrition, and indeed to L1 and L2 (second language) acquisition in the larger context of multilingual development. CDST provides a challenge not just for common empirical and analytical approaches to attrition, but for the very notion of ‘predictor’. The chapter concludes by discussing some ways in which the current stalemate may be overcome.

Implications of the Bottleneck Hypothesis for Language Attrition

This chapter explores the predictions of the Bottleneck Hypothesis for language attrition. The hypothesis compares different degrees of success/difficulty in the acquisition of syntax, semantics, and morphology. Its main tenets are that functional morphology presents the biggest challenge to acquisition, while syntax and semantics are relatively easier to acquire because they employ universal operations. The grammars of early and late attriters are examined to check these expectations. An overview of the literature suggests that early attriters are indeed challenged by inflectional morphology, especially when expressed by large paradigms and when lexical learning of affixes is involved. However, early attriters rarely have issues with basic syntax. Essentially the same picture emerges for late attriters, modulated by linguistic complexity, redundancy of the marker, opaqueness of form–meaning mapping, and usage frequency. While the Bottleneck Hypothesis is too large-grained to explain all findings, its predictions appear to be largely borne out.

Language Loss and Language Learning in Internationally Adopted Children

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.

Quantifying Language Experience in Heritage Language Development

Variation in language experience is a key characteristic of heritage language development. To understand the impact of these varying experiences on children’s heritage language outcomes, researchers typically collate and quantify specific aspects of children’s language input, transforming or reducing them into other more general variables, such as language richness as a measure of input quality and amount of language exposure as a measure of input quantity. This chapter presents an overview of the most frequently used method of operationalizing language experience in bilingual language acquisition research, namely the parental questionnaire. It outlines some conceptual and practical issues surrounding parental questionnaires as a means of quantifying bilingual language experience as well as reviewing a number of questionnaires used in recent studies in more detail.

Introduction to Heritage Language Development

This chapter presents and analyses main factors that contribute to attrition in heritage languages. It shows that heritage speakers are a highly heterogeneous population from both a psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic point of view. In principle, their language can differ from the language of their input (baseline language, usually that of first-generation immigrants to a new country). The differences can be due to how the heritage language developed under reduced input conditions, interference from the dominant language (transfer) and innovations in the grammar, potential changes incipient in the input, and attrition proper. The latter is particularly apparent when the language of adult heritage speakers is compared with the language of bilingual children; such children outperform heritage speakers on a variety of linguistic properties. The critical factors that affect language change in heritage speakers include the age of onset of bilingualism and quantity/quality of input.

Introduction to L2 attrition

As the introduction to the section on second language (L2) attrition, this chapter provides a broad presentation to research on attrition of L2 and foreign languages (FL). We will first discuss the terminology used in the field, focusing on some important differences in the terminology used in first language (L1) attrition studies. It provides a short overview of the development of the field, outlining major challenges and obstacles that research on the topic has to deal with. Next, it briefly describes the major findings and knowledge amassed on the subject before reviewing in more detail the findings of some of the most significant and large-scale projects carried out on L2/FL attrition. A final presentation of several theoretical frameworks of interest for L2/FL attrition research will allow us to show how L2/FL attrition is commonly explained but also to provide some ideas for future research directions.

The Impact of Frequency of Use and Length of Residence on L1 Attrition

The present chapter offers a review the empirical evidence on the impact of frequency of first language (L1) use and length of residence in the country where that is the primary language spoken on language development in an attrition setting. The chapter starts out by outlining the relevant theoretical frameworks of forgetting and maintaining knowledge and then it presents a summary of existing empirical research on language attrition. The chapter then concludes by suggesting that the available evidence points to a complex picture of interaction among external and predictor variables across the range of linguistic skills available to an individual, but that, in part due to methodological inconsistencies and limitations, no full and comprehensive picture has been arrived at to date.

Age Effects in Language Attrition

The present chapter discusses age effects in first language (L1) attrition. In particular, focus is placed on the age-related decline in attrition susceptibility, the extent to which age effects be counterbalanced by other factors, and the underlying mechanisms of age effects. In view of extant evidence, it is suggested that the change in heightened attrition susceptibility occurs at around 12 years of age (or puberty) (though this by no means implies that attrition does not occur past puberty). Relatedly, it is suggests that socio-psychological and cognitive factors have greater compensatory potential for prepubescent than postpubescent attriters. As to the underlying mechanisms of age effects, the impediment account, the psychosocial account, and the maturational account are discussed. It is suggested that out of these, the maturational account has the greatest explanatory potential. The chapter concludes with a number of testable principles of age effects on L1 attrition.

Introduction

This volume is the first handbook dedicated to language attrition, the study of how a speaker’s language may be affected by cross-linguistic interference and non-use. The effects of language attrition can be felt in all aspects of language knowledge, processing, and production, and can offer unique insights into the mind of bilingual language users. In this book, international experts in the field explore a comprehensive range of topics in language attrition, examining its theoretical implications, psycho- and neurolinguistic approaches, linguistic and extralinguistic factors, second language (L2) attrition, and heritage languages. The chapters summarize current research and draw on insights from related fields such as child language development, language contact, language change, pathological developments, and second language acquisition.

How Bilingualism Affects Syntactic Processing in The Native Language

In this chapter, we survey recent contributions to the research on bilingual language processing that demonstrate how exposure to a second language, even for a brief period of time, can impact processing in the native language. We focus our discussion primarily on syntactic and morpho-syntactic processing. In light of this evidence, we argue that claims of language attrition may not be as clear-cut as one may think when online language processing is taken into account. A second goal of our chapter is to show that eye-tracking is a premier behavioural method by which we can come to understand fine-grained changes in online language processing. In doing so, we hope to illustrate how the study of online language processing via eye-tracking can help to clarify issues in language attrition.