Language attrition

Abstract: 1. Introduction: The Field of Contact Linguistics:. The Subject Matter Of Contact Linguistics. History Of Research On Language Contact. The Field Of Contact Linguistics. Types Of Contact Situation. Overview Of Contact Situations And Their Outcomes. The Social Contexts Of Language Contact. 2. Language Maintenance and Lexical Borrowing:. Introduction. 'Casual' Contact And Lexical Borrowing. Contact In Settings Involving "Unequal" Bilingualism. Lexical Borrowing In Equal Bilingual Situations. Social Motivations For Lexical Borrowing. The Processes And Products Of Lexical Borrowing. The Integration Of Loanwords. Linguistic Constraints On Lexical Borrowing. Structural Consequences Of Lexical Borrowing. Summary. 3. Structural Diffusion in Situations of Language Maintenance:. Introduction. Is There Direct Borrowing Of Structural Features?. Factors Affecting Structural Convergence. Structural Convergence In Stable Bilingual Situations. Sprachbunde: Contact Across Contiguous Speech Communities. A Case Of Intimate Inter-Community Contact: Arnhem Land. Heavy To Extreme Structural Diffusion: Borrowing Or Substratum Influence?. The Social Contexts Of Structural Convergence. Linguistic Constraints On Structural Diffusion Into A Maintained Language. Constraints On Syntactic Diffusion. Summary. 4. Code Switching in its Social Contexts:. Introduction. Defining Code Switching. Social Motivations For Code Switching. Summary. 5. Code Switching: Linguistic Aspects:. Introduction. Structural Constraints On Code Switching. A Production-Based Model Of Code Switching. Constraints On Code Switching Within The MLF Model. Constraints On Multi-Word Switches (EL Islands). Further Issues. Summary. 6. Bilingual Mixed Languages:. Introduction. Definition And Classification. Media Lengua. Michif. Creations Associated With Language Shift. The Case Of Ma'a. The Strange Case Of Copper Island Aleut. Summary. 7. Second Language Acquisition and Language Shift:. A. An Overview Of Individual Second Language Acquistion:. Introduction. L1 Influence In SLA. Simplification In SLA. Internal Developments In L2 Systems. Developmental Stages In SLA. Strategies And Processes In SLA. Principles And Constraints On SLA. B. Group Second Language Acquisition Or Language Shift. Introduction. Irish English. "Indigenized" Englishes And Similar Contact Varieties. Issues In The Study Of Language Shift. Linguistic Constraints In Language Shift. Non-Structural Factors In Language Shift. Question Of Classification. C. First Language Attrition And Death. Introduction. External (Social) Factors In Language Death. The Linguistic Consequences Of L1 Attrition. Language Attrition In Relation To Other Contact Phenomena. Summary. 8. Pidgins and Pidginization:. Introduction: Definitions. Social Contexts Of Pidgin Formation. Russenorsk: A Brief Sketch. Structural Characteristics Of Pidgins. Pidgin Formation In Relation To Early SLA. Elaborated Or Extended Pidgins. Simplified Languages. Issues Of Classification Revisited. Summary. 9. Creole Formation:. Introduction. Defining Creoles. The Sociohistorical Background To Creole Formation. The Emergence Of "Intermediate" Creoles: Bajan. The Emergence Of Radical Creoles: Suriname. Some Aspects Of Creole Grammar. Theories Of Creole Formation. Radical Creole Formation As SLA. Mechanisms, Constraints And Principles In Creole Formation. Universal Principles And Creole Formation. Externally Motivated Change In Later Creole Development. Summary. References. Index.

Abstract: In this paper we present some results from an experimental study that we have been conducting into the effects of syntactic attrition on the L1 of Greek and Italian speakers who have achieved near-native proficiency in their L2 (English) but still use their L1 on a regular basis. In particular, we test the hypothesis, developed on the basis of assumptions regarding syntactic modularity, that the changes in L1 syntax will be restricted to the interface with the conceptual / intentional cognitive systems. The area of investigation is the domain of grammatical subjects in Greek and Italian. More specifically, we tested the participants on the production and interpretation of null and overt subjects, and of preverbal and postverbal subjects. We also elicited grammaticality judgments on subject extraction and subject position in various syntactic contexts. In this paper we report on the results of one of the production tasks (of preverbal and postverbal subjects) and two interpretation tasks. Attrition effects are found in the production of preverbal subjects in the Greek group whereas Italian speakers show attrition effects in the interpretation of overt pronominal subjects. We argue that these results are in the right direction, that is, that semantic features are vulnerable in language attrition whereas syntactic options remain intact.

Abstract: This paper has two main goals: (i) to provide a description of the language of incomplete learners of Russian living in the U.S. and (ii) to identify across-the-board differences between a full language and an incompletely learned language. Most data used here come from American Russian, a reduced and reanalyzed version of Russian spoken in the U.S. by those speakers who became English-dominant in childhood. Incomplete acquirers of Russian demonstrate significant intra-group variation, which corresponds to similar variation found among incomplete learners of other languages. However, there are a number of structural properties that are shared by American Russian speakers regardless of their proficiency level and that distinguish their language from the baseline variety of Russian. American Russian therefore cannot be defined solely on geographical grounds; it differs significantly from varieties of Russian spoken by subjects who maintain language competence appropriate to uninterrupted acquisition. The paper also demonstrates a correlation between vocabulary deficiency and gaps in the grammar of American Russian. Such a correlation suggests a compact method of estimating incomplete acquirers' proficiency based on a concise lexical test. 1. Introduction This paper examines the morphosyntactic consequences of incomplete acquisition for language structure. (1) Let me say from the outset that the descriptive aspect of this paper is unquestionably its most important one, as incompletely acquired languages have received little coverage in linguistic literature, and I hope that this paper will serve to fill a small part of that gap. In addition to describing an incompletely acquired system, I address the interaction between language-particular and cross-linguistic phenomena under incomplete acquisition. I also demonstrate the correlation between lexical attrition on the one hand, and attrition in morphology and syntax on the other. This correlation allows me to propose a vocabulary-based method of measuring language attrition. The crucial data introduced here come from instances of lexical, morphological, and syntactic attrition as they occur in one particular language, American Russian. American Russian is compared to the full version of Modern Russian. As the two languages are compared, it becomes clear that American Russian is not just an offshoot of the Russian spoken in the language metropoly (the place where Russian is the sole or dominant language). Rather, it is a language in its own right, and while some of its properties may be viewed as caricatures of the trends already apparent in the language of the metropoly, many other traits are idiosyncratic and cannot be derived from the full version of Modern Russian. The paper has the following structure: in Section 2 I discuss the basic concepts used in the paper, introduce the elicitation techniques used in this study, and describe the speakers of American Russian interviewed for this study. Some salient lexical properties of American Russian are reviewed in Section 3. Section 4 presents and analyzes structural characteristics of American Russian in nominal morphology, and Section 5 discusses verbal categories. Section 6 summarizes the main characteristics of American Russian in syntax and discourse. Section 7 demonstrates the correlation between lexical and morphological/syntactic attrition, concluding that the proposed method of measuring lexical proficiency can reveal the general level of language competence. The major findings of the paper are summarized in the conclusion. 2. American Russianad Its Spedcers 2.1. Baic Notion This paper examines American Russian, a language variety that is endangered in that it is unlikely to stay around for generations, but does not come to mind as obviously endangered because it is associated with the healthy varieties of Russian spoken in Russia and in the growing Russian diaspora. …

Abstract: Table of Contents Contributors Acknowledgements Editors' Introduction: Foundations of the new historical linguistics 1 Claire Bowern and Bethwyn Evans Part 1 Overviews * Lineage and the constructive imagination: the birth of historical linguistics Roger Lass * New perspectives in historical linguistics Paul Kiparsky * Compositionality and change Nigel Vincent Part 2 Methods and models * The Comparative Method Michael Weiss * The Comparative Method: theoretical issues Mark Hale * Trees, waves and linkages: models of language diversification Alexandre Francois * Language phylogenies Michael Dunn * Diachronic stability and typology Soren Wichmann Part 3 Language change * The Sound change Andrew Garrett * Phonological changes Silke Hamann * Morphological change Stephen Anderson * Morphological reconstruction Harold Koch * Functional syntax and language change Zigmunt Frajzyngier * Generative syntax and language change Elly van Gelderen * Syntax and Syntactic reconstruction Johanna Barddal * Lexical semantic change and semantic reconstruction Matthias Urban * Formal semantics/pragmatics and language change Ashwini Deo * Discourse Alexandra D'Arcy * Etymology Robert Mailhammer * Sign languages in their historical context Susan D. Fisher * Language acquisition and language change James N. Stanford * Social dimensions of language change Lev Michael * Language use, cognitive processes and linguistic change Joan Bybee and Clayton Beckner * Contact-induced language change Christopher Lucas * Language attrition and language change Jane Simpson Part 4 Interfaces 27 Demographic correlates of language diversity Simon J. Greenhill 28 Historical linguistics and socio-cultural reconstruction Patience Epps 29 Prehistory through language and archaeology Paul Heggarty 30 Historical linguistics and molecular anthropology Brigitte Pakendorf Part 5 Regional Summaries * Indo-European: methods and problems Benjamin W. Fortson IV * Austronesian Ritsuko Kikusawa * The Austro-Asiatic language phylum: a typology of phonological restructuring Paul Sidwell * Pama-Nyungan Luisa Miceli * The Pacific Northwest lingusitic area: historical perspectives Sarah G. Thomason