This study reports on language contact phenomena among the Italian-Venetian communities of Anglophone Canada. The analysis perspective is twofold: on one hand it studies language maintenance/attrition comparing two cohorts of migrants, those already well researched who migrated during the period of mass migration (1945-1967) and those who did so in the following four decades (1970-2009). On the other, it investigates language maintenance/attrition taking an intergenerational perspective on three generations of speakers. The corpus used in the analysis is composed of 56 interviews, collected during three months of fieldwork in Canada in 2009. These data were supplemented by 99 questionnaires, which set the background of the analysis, discussing in particular the linguistic habits and attitudes of the community investigated. Given the huge amount of data considered and the mainly quantitative approach taken in this research, two statistical software programs, Taltac and SPSS, were employed to help with the analysis. Another tool, meta-linguistic observation, is also used to broaden the general framework of the study and whenever possible support it with more evidence. The literature on language maintenance/attrition among Italian migrant communities is sizeable; however, there remains room for further investigations. This work, in particular, addresses two major aspects still rarely explored: first, quantifying the decline in heritage language skills on a generational scale, and secondly, comparing the linguistic skills of post-Second World War migrants, on which research has mostly concentrated so far, with those of new waves of migrants. Although this thesis is concerned with a particular geographical and historical framework and the findings are therefore representative of this specific context, the work aims to point to some observations from which generalisation may be possible. By setting side by side these two very distinct cohorts and discussing the new linguistic tendencies in language proficiency among the most recent groups of migrants, research is opened to the new scenarios evolving among Italian communities abroad.

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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Moving to a new country often involves exposing oneself to new languages and cultures. Many individuals who move to another country and acquire a new language are sometimes at risk of losing the language of their country of origin. Studies in first language (L1) loss aim to describe what happens in an individual’s L1 when he/she moves away or disconnects from its source as well as to explain which linguistic aspects change and why. The aim of this research paper is to investigate lexical proficiency in L1 German bilingual speakers residing in the Western Cape. Lexical data were elicited through a Verbal Fluency Task (VFT) and a Picture Naming Task (PNT). Particularly, the paper assesses the extent to which degree of German L1 contact influences lexical development, alongside other background factors (age of reduced L1 contact, length of residence in the L2, education level) and sociolinguistic factors (attitude towards the L1, language use and contact). Correlational analyses revealed that two types of contact factors were crucial for maintaining L1 lexical proficiency: 1) intense receptive input such as reading German books and other German visual media, and 2) exposure to German as a medium of instruction within an educational setting. Neither of these factors allow nor permit any code-switching or code-mixing and are considered to be a form of German monolingual input, thus cementing L1 knowledge and skills and proving to be beneficial for long-term language development and maintenance. Conclusions drawn from the results of the study are discussed in the final chapter and suggestions for future research are presented. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die verhuising na ‘n nuwe land sluit gewoonlik blootstelling van menself aan nuwe tale en kulture in. Baie individue wat na ‘n ander land verhuis en ‘n nuwe taal aanleer, loop soms die risiko om die taal van hulle land van herkoms, te verloor. Studies in eerste taal (L1) verlies het ten doel om te beskryf wat in ‘n individu se L1 gebeur wanneer hy of sy verhuis of wegbreek van die bron asook om te verduidelik watter linguistiese aspekte verander of aanpas en waarom. Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om leksikale bevoegdheid in L1 Duitse tweetalige sprekers in die Wes-Kaap, te ondersoek. Leksikale data is deur ‘n Verbale Vlotheid Taak (VFT) en ‘n Prentjie Benaaming Taak (PNT) versamel. Meer spesifiek, assesseer die navorsing die mate van die graad waartoe Duitse L1 kontak leksikale ontwikkeling beïnvloed tesame met ander agtergrondfaktore (ouderdom van verminderde L1 kontak, lengte van verblyf in die L2, onderrigvlak). Korrelatiewe analises dui daarop dat twee tipes kontakfaktore van uiterste belang was vir L1 leksikale bevoegdheid: 1) intense vatbare insette soos die lees van Duitse boeke en ander Duitse visuele media, en 2) blootsteling aan Duits as ‘n medium van instruksie in ‘n onderrigopset. Nie een van hierdie twee faktore laat enige kode-wisseling of kode-vermenging toe nie en is oorwegend ‘n vorm van Duitse eentalige tevoer, dus word L1-kennis en-vaardighede vasgelê en bewys dat dit voordelig is vir langtermyn taalontwikeling en instandhouding. Gevolgtrekkings wat van die resultate van die studie gemaak is, word in die finale hoofstuk bespreek en voorstelle vir toekomstige navorsing word aangedui.

The current studies tested the hypothesis, that early exposure is sufficient for nativelike proficiency. Study 1 compared the English skill of 116 5 year olds who had been exposed to English and Spanish from birth with English monolingual and found that the bilingual children had significantly lower levels of vocabulary skill. Study 2 assessed 65 adult bilinguals, comparing them to 25 English and 25 Spanish monolinguals on a battery of language measures. The bilinguals had lower scores in Spanish in 7 of the 8 domains of language skill measured. The bilinguals were not different from the English monolingual speakers in most, but not all, aspects of language proficiency. These findings provide evidence that the monolingual-bilingual gap observed in childhood is no longer evident among adult bilinguals, but that despite early exposure and continued use into adulthood, second generation immigrants are not native-like in their heritage language skills. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-197).

Those who work with older people frequently report that people who have learned a second language appear to lose facility in that language as they age. This phenomenon has also been observed by the friends and relatives of those older persons who have learned more than one language. However, there is very little research investigating changes in second (or other) languages across the lifespan. In contrast, extensive research exploring first language change in ageing has provided ample evidence of patterns of change in first language abilities across the lifespan. There is also much research linking these patterns to age-related cognitive change. The question addressed in the first study of this project was whether patterns of age-related change in second language abilities are similar to patterns of change in first language abilities. The performance of English first language and English second language (Chinese first language) participants aged 20 to 79 was compared on four language ability tasks. Information relating to language background, language use, and education was also collected. In general, the patterns of first and second language change across the lifespan were similar with facility in one ability, verbal fluency, decreasing with increased age. Background variables were also found to affect second language ability within the English second language group. The second study investigated whether those processes associated with age-related cognitive decline, and therefore age-related changes in first language, also influence changes in second language verbal fluency in ageing. English second language (Chinese first language) participants aged 20 to 79 performed a number of tasks designed to measure the cognitive constructs of speed of processing, inhibitory efficiency, and working memory capacity. The effect of age on verbal fluency in second language was mediated by speed of processing. There was no evidence of reduced inhibitory efficiency with increased age. Scores from the working memory capacity tasks could not be analysed due to the involuntary and unexpected intrusion of their Chinese language for some bilingual participants. The results were interpreted in terms of fluid and crystallised intelligence, and also the differences in bilingual compared to monolingual language processing. Implications for testing and assessment of individuals in their non-native language are discussed, and both the limitations of the research and also possible future research directions are identified.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 173-178). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The purpose of this study was to explore how syntactic skill was maintained or lost by L2 Mandarin Chinese learners over time. In addition, this study endeavored to discover how a learner's L1 affects the attrition process of word order in Mandarin Chinese. To find out how certain Chinese syntactic structures were subject to attrition over time and how syntactic errors could be attributed to L1 transfer, five types of Chinese syntax that either resembled English, were very different from English, or had no counterpart in English were selected. They included subject-verb-object sentences, modifiers before modified, time and other adverbial clauses, and object-raising in Chinese specific ba construction. Twenty-four university students of Chinese-as-a-second-language speakers, who intensively learned and used Mandarin Chinese in a host culture setting for 16-22 months, participated in this study. By the time participants were tested a second time, they had discontinued regular usage of the L2 for 12 to 17 years. To find out how L2 syntactic attrition developed over time, participants were divided into three groups according to the year of departure from the L2 environment. They were also grouped into two groups by the length of time in the L2 setting to examine whether exposure time to the L2 affected the maintenance of overall L2 syntactic skill. The results indicated that the subjects retain a fair amount of their language education within the first couple years of discontinued regular L2 usage. In the meantime, it was found that the extra six months exposed to the L2 does not extend the long-term maintenance of overall L2 syntactic skill. The results did not show that the distance of structural properties between the learner's L1 and L2 necessarily predicted patterns of regression towards L1 syntactic ordering. Instead, the frequency of use, how often the structure appears in daily interaction with the target society and how well the syntactic structure was acquired in the first place, played a greater role in predicting whether the structure will likely be forgotten.

Language plays a crucial role in remembering, storing, maintaining, accessing, and sharing of memories. This evidence comes from the disciplines of psychoanalysis (Javier et al., 1993; Schwaneberg, 2010), developmental psychology (Fivush, 2011; Nelson, 2004), and bilingual memory (Larsen et al., 2002; Marian & Neisser, 2000). Some of the most telling examples come from bilingual psychotherapy where therapist switch to the patient’s native language in order to access childhood memories (e.g., Aragno & Schlacher, 1996). The loss of language, therefore, may have a detrimental effect on memory storage and recall. Until now, however, this possibility has not been tested. The purpose of the present study is to address this gap by investigating autobiographical memory in speakers undergoing L1 attrition. The study is grounded in the dual-coding theoretical framework (Paivio, 1971; 2014). According to the dual-coding theory, memories that are encoded with multiple memory traces (audio, visual, etc.) are remembered better and a weakening of a memory trace due to its inactivation might lead to forgetting. Therefore, memories that were encoded in a language that is no longer available might show signs of deterioration. Twelve non-attriters ages 18-28 (M=22.08; SD=3.73), 13 moderate attriters ages 18-33 (M=24.29; SD=5.43), and 10 advanced attriters ages 18-30 (M=23.1; SD=3.7) shared autobiographical memories with the help of free recall and cued-recall procedures (Marian & Neisser, 2000; Schrauf & Rubin, 2000). The pool of 420 free recall memories were analyzed for amount of detail (Levine et al., 2002) and the set of 1,988 cued recall memories were analyzed for phenomenological properties of vividness, significance, emotionality, and confidence in the event (Schrauf, 2009; Schrauf & Rubin, 2004). The results revealed that moderate attriters who had vague L1 Russian memories recalled memories with lower confidence rating in comparison to non-attriters, which suggests a negative L1 attrition effect on bilingual autobiographical memory. However, the advanced attriters were able to recall vivid and detailed L1 Russian memories. The aforementioned finding did not support the study’s hypothesis that memories might be forgotten if the language of encoding is no longer available. This can be explained by the following observation. Advanced attriters recalled their L1 Russian memories very frequently which insured a preservation of these memories. This rehearsing of L1 memories in their dominant L2 English also caused re-encoding of these memories into the dominant language. This was observed qualitatively (participants commenting on how L1 Russian memories were coming to them with L2 English words) and quantitatively (L1 Russian memories were reported to be accompanied by L2 English words). These findings have several theoretical implications for the discipline of bilingualism. L1 attrition may have a negative effect on bilingual autobiographical memory, at least as far as the phenomenological properties are concerned. However, this negative effect can be reversed by frequent rehearsing of memories that were encoded in an attrited language. Rehearsing may lead to re-encoding of L1 memories into the L2 which suggests that memories may be malleable. This demonstrates flexibility of bilingual mind and how it can adjust to L1 attrition. / Applied Linguistics

Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung ist die Beschreibung der Varietäten der italienischen Sprache, wie sie von in Berlin lebenden italienischen Auswanderern gesprochen werden. Die Stichprobe, die sich aus 64 Informanten zusammensetzt, wurde ausgehend von deren Bildungsgrad in zwei Gruppen aufgeteilt, die wiederum nach erster und zweiter Generation unterteilt wurden. Die insgesamt vier Gruppen bestehen aus jeweils 16 Informanten. Die Analysen erfolgten auf soziolinguistischer und sprachlicher Ebene. Für die erste Untersuchung wurde eine Studie zum Phänomen des language shift durchgeführt, bei der die Einstellungen zu den Sprachen im Repertoire der Gemeinschaft untersucht wurden. Die Analyse ergab zum einen, dass es zwei verschiedene Sprachgemeinschaften mit zwei Repertoires gibt, die sich nicht vollkommen überschneiden, und zum anderen, dass ein unterschiedlicher Grad der Integration innerhalb der deutschen Gemeinschaft festzustellen ist. Die soziolinguistischen Ergebnisse wurden durch die anschließende Analyse der sprachlichen Merkmale bestätigt, die die beiden Gruppen der ersten Generation nach dem Bildungsgrad und der unterschiedlichen Dialektverwendung unterscheiden. In der Gruppe mit niedrigem bis mittlerem Bildungsgrad zeigt sich eine Verschiebung von der varietà popolare hin zur Umgangssprache, während in der Gruppe mit mittlerem bis hohem Bildungsgrad eine Verschiebung vom neo-standard hin zur Umgangssprache erkennbar ist. Interessant ist jedoch die Analyse der jeweiligen Gruppen der zweiten Generation, aus der – unabhängig von der Herkunft der Eltern – viele gemeinsame Merkmale ersichtlich werden. Dies lässt sich tendenziell durch den längeren Kontakt mit der deutschen Gesellschaft erklären, der zu einem Rückgang des Italienischgebrauchs führt. / The present dissertation investigates the varieties of spoken Italian used by members of the Italian community in Berlin from a sociolinguistic perspective. The aim is to determine whether there are different Italian linguistic communities in Berlin and how they differentiate from one another. The sample consists of 64 participants, 32 from the first generation and 32 from the second, further divided according to their educational degree. The study takes into account the relationship between linguistic codes and domains of language use, whilst exploring the language shift phenomenon. The qualitative analysis of the data reveals that two linguistic communities with two specific repertoires have gradually taken shape. This is confirmed by the linguistic analysis of the Italian varieties spoken by the participants. The educational degree and the different use of the heritage Italo-Romance dialect of the informants emerged as sociolinguistic variable. The variety of the first generation with low educational degree and extensive use of the dialect shares linguistic features both of the “italiano popolare“ (i.e. the variety of Italian spoken by those individuals who learned as their native language an Italo-Romance dialect) and of the colloquial variety of Italian. On the contrary, the variety of the first generation with a high educational degree and a restricted use of the dialect shares linguistic traits both of the neo-standard and of the colloquial variety. Findings of the second generation groups indicate that the parent's background seems to have a marginal effect on the linguistic variety. This could be due to the second generation participants being exposed to the German society for a longer period of time, causing a decline in their competency of the Italian language.