The linguistic behaviour of bilingual speakers who have had prolonged exposure to a second language (L2) is different from that of monolinguals. This thesis investigates the extent and source of attrition effects by comparing language representation and processing in adult late bilinguals undergoing native language (L1) attrition and their monolingual counterparts. Based on the previous observation that structures that are sensitive to discourse-pragmatic conditions are vulnerable to attrition (Sorace 2011, Sorace & Filiaci 2006), the thesis examines: i) whether the difference between attrited and non-attrited speakers in L1 use is restricted to structures whose distribution is grammatically underspecified; ii) whether the difference is due more to underspecification of mental representation or to on-line processing difficulties; and iii) to what extent the difference is a consequence of transfer from L2. The case investigated in this study is L1 attrition by Korean immigrants who have lived in an L2 (English or Japanese) environment for a period of 6 to 25 years. Two L2 groups and one monolingual control group were tested on two different types of phenomena in Korean: core binding of the reflexive caki whose felicity is determined by grammar (Experiment 1), and the attachment of the plural suffix tul whose felicity is underspecified by grammar (Experiment 2). Experimental data were collected using an on-line methodology (a self-paced reading task) as well as an off-line one (acceptability judgement task) in order to identify the locus of any non-convergence between attrited and non-attrited speakers with respect to the investigated phenomena. Results from the experiments showed that attrition had an impact on both grammatically specified and underspecified structures, but to a different degree. With respect to core binding of caki, attrited Korean speakers diverged from the monolingual norm in the on-line reading task but not in the off-line judgement task, indicating that their representation of caki-binding was intact. With respect to tul-attachment, on the other hand, the attriters displayed divergence in both the off-line and on-line tasks, indicating that their representation of appropriate conditions for tul, as well as their real-time processing of the conditions was affected due to long-term exposure to L2. In both caki-binding and tul-attachment, the attriters’ non-native performance was largely attributable to influence from their L2. However, the attriters’ divergence also seemed to be attributable, at least in part, to inefficient executive control of two languages. Regarding tul-attachment, the results demonstrated that the distribution of tul in unattrited Korean is regulated by several factors, including animacy, number-specificity and distributivity, and thus the acceptability of tul is largely gradient, rather than categorical. The results also provided evidence for an ongoing change in the distribution of tul and suggested that the change is accelerated by attrited speakers living in an L2 English environment.

published_or_final_version / Applied English Studies / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Australia, 2007.

This dissertation examines first language loss, or lack of first language development, in minority first language children, trying to answer the questions: (a) what have been the consequences (negative or positive) of losing a first language?, and (b) what does first language loss mean both personally and literally? Taking a multiple life history case study approach, this dissertation seeks to understand first language loss from a descriptive, narrative, retrospective, and personal point-of-view, one heretofore overlooked in language loss research. Linguistic life histories were collected through a series of interviews with each of 21 subjects. Five of the life histories are included in full edited form and are intensively analysed in this dissertation. Additionally, all 21 case studies are reviewed in an emergent theme analysis which examines the consequences of first language loss for family relationships, school relationships, school performance, and self image. A final section of the emergent theme analysis tries to determine the meaning of first language loss. A number of negative consequences of losing one's primary language are cited, including familial misunderstanding, loss of extended family, loss of parental closeness and guidance, anger and frustration toward the family, the school system and the community, poor scholastic performance in some subject areas, poor self image, loss of employment opportunity and marketability, and loss of cultural identity. It is concluded that first language loss has had a significantly negative impact on many aspects of the subjects' lives.

This dissertation examines first language loss, or lack of first language development, in minority first language children, trying to answer the questions: (a) what have been the consequences (negative or positive) of losing a first language?, and (b) what does first language loss mean both personally and literally? Taking a multiple life history case study approach, this dissertation seeks to understand first language loss from a descriptive, narrative, retrospective, and personal point-of-view, one heretofore overlooked in language loss research. Linguistic life histories were collected through a series of interviews with each of 21 subjects. Five of the life histories are included in full edited form and are intensively analysed in this dissertation. Additionally, all 21 case studies are reviewed in an emergent theme analysis which examines the consequences of first language loss for family relationships, school relationships, school performance, and self image. A final section of the emergent theme analysis tries to determine the meaning of first language loss. A number of negative consequences of losing one's primary language are cited, including familial misunderstanding, loss of extended family, loss of parental closeness and guidance, anger and frustration toward the family, the school system and the community, poor scholastic performance in some subject areas, poor self image, loss of employment opportunity and marketability, and loss of cultural identity. It is concluded that first language loss has had a significantly negative impact on many aspects of the subjects' lives. / Education, Faculty of / Language and Literacy Education (LLED), Department of / Graduate

In the context of language use of Romanian migrants living in Canada, this thesis examines the linguistic changes and the contributing social, personal, and affective factors involved in the maintenance of a migrant’s first language (L1) as she or he simultaneously acquires a second language (L2) in an L2-dominant environment. Specifically, it investigates the incidence of L1 attrition in the bilingual group, the existence of a possible systematic relationship between the levels of L1 and L2 proficiency, and the influence of sociolinguistic and cognitive factors on L1 attrition and L2 acquisition in bilingual contexts. L1 attrition is defined here as both the reduction of L1 language skills and the restructuring of the L1 according to L2 patterns to the point where communication in the L1 is impaired. The present study involves extensive elicitation of written and oral data in both Romanian and English. First, an assessment of the participants’ history of language acquisition, their attitudes, their patterns of language use, and the nature of their social networks was conducted via sociolinguistic questionnaires and individual interviews. The language aptitude tests used in this project examined phonetic memory, vocabulary learning, and grammatical inferencing abilities. As an indicator of overall language proficiency, formal tests (a C-test and a verbal fluency task) and samples of spontaneous speech in the form of film commenting tasks were analyzed for fluency and grammatical complexity. The results showed that L1 attrition is a possible, but not obligatory, outcome in the first generation of migrants. With the exception of two participants, the majority of the bilinguals in this study, while not perfect matches for the L1 monolinguals, remained within the L1 native range even after a long residence in the L2 country. While proficiency trade-off patterns are not observable at the group level, they were evidenced in the cases of the two attriters identified in this study. With respect to cognitive predictor variables, L1 maintenance does not appear to be a direct function of linguistic aptitude. At the same time, levels of L1 attrition and L2 achievement are dependent on a combination of attitudinal and personal background variables.

In the context of language use of Romanian migrants living in Canada, this thesis examines the linguistic changes and the contributing social, personal, and affective factors involved in the maintenance of a migrant’s first language (L1) as she or he simultaneously acquires a second language (L2) in an L2-dominant environment. Specifically, it investigates the incidence of L1 attrition in the bilingual group, the existence of a possible systematic relationship between the levels of L1 and L2 proficiency, and the influence of sociolinguistic and cognitive factors on L1 attrition and L2 acquisition in bilingual contexts. L1 attrition is defined here as both the reduction of L1 language skills and the restructuring of the L1 according to L2 patterns to the point where communication in the L1 is impaired. The present study involves extensive elicitation of written and oral data in both Romanian and English. First, an assessment of the participants’ history of language acquisition, their attitudes, their patterns of language use, and the nature of their social networks was conducted via sociolinguistic questionnaires and individual interviews. The language aptitude tests used in this project examined phonetic memory, vocabulary learning, and grammatical inferencing abilities. As an indicator of overall language proficiency, formal tests (a C-test and a verbal fluency task) and samples of spontaneous speech in the form of film commenting tasks were analyzed for fluency and grammatical complexity. The results showed that L1 attrition is a possible, but not obligatory, outcome in the first generation of migrants. With the exception of two participants, the majority of the bilinguals in this study, while not perfect matches for the L1 monolinguals, remained within the L1 native range even after a long residence in the L2 country. While proficiency trade-off patterns are not observable at the group level, they were evidenced in the cases of the two attriters identified in this study. With respect to cognitive predictor variables, L1 maintenance does not appear to be a direct function of linguistic aptitude. At the same time, levels of L1 attrition and L2 achievement are dependent on a combination of attitudinal and personal background variables.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2008. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Mar. 13, 2009). Thesis advisor: Chauncey J. Mellor. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-141). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29549

Thesis (M.S. in anthropology)--Washington State University, May 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-108).