This report addresses the lack of progress in the field of Second Language Attrition (L2A). Review of L2A history and literature show this to be cause by lack of appropriate data. Five criteria for appropriate data are suggested and a corpus of L2A data (57,000 words, spoken Spanish) which meets the criteria is presented. The history of the corpus is explained in detail, including subject selection, instruments and methods of collection, and markup -- XML was used to annotate the corpus with nineteen categories of speech errors, adapted from Nation's (2001) "Learning Vocabulary in Another Language." An example analysis of how the corpus can be used for L2A research is provided with step-by-step instructions on writing scripts for data extraction and post-processing in the Perl language. Source code is included in the text. Complete beginners tutorials on the XML and Perl languages are included in the appendices. The report also introduces a website, developed specifically to host the corpus, where researchers may register, download the corpus and share work they have done with the corpus. All files used in the example project, as well as this report, are available for download at the website. Findings from the example analysis support Plateau Phases, the Regression Hypothesis and suggest the Threshold Hypothesis does not apply to marked forms. This shows the corpus to be of great value to the L2A research community.

Es natural que la lengua materna de un bilingüe cambie. Sin embargo, si un individuo vive en un contexto donde se habla su segunda lengua como lengua mayoritaria, si usa constantemente su segunda lengua y si el uso de su lengua materna ha disminuido, es muy probable que se vea afectado por la atrición de las habilidades lingüísticas. Esta investigación se concentra en el estudio de la atrición léxica del español como lengua materna. Los participantes son mexicanos adultos con educación universitaria entre los 25 y los 35 años de edad, los participantes del grupo experimental (n=10) inmigraron a los Estados Unidos después de los 17 años de edad, y han vivido en este país entre 5 y 16 años. Los participantes del grupo de control (n=10) residen en México y nunca han vivido en un país de habla inglesa. Tres medidas se obtuvieron y analizaron estadísticamente para determinar si el grupo experimental está siendo afectado por la atrición de la lengua: en las medidas de diversidad y la sofisticación léxica los resultados de la investigación revelaron una diferencia estadísticamente significativa entre ambos grupos. Estos resultados resultan similares a los de Keijzer (2017), Schmid y Dusseldrop (2011); y Yilmaz y Schmid (2012). No hubo diferencia en la prueba de fluidez verbal. Los resultados no revelaron significancia de la edad, el tiempo de arribo y el sexo en la media de los resultados, y de la misma manera no se encontró una correlación de los resultados de las pruebas léxicas con el uso del idioma, debido quizá al tamaño de la muestra.

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine two groups of healthy older Dutch English bilingual migrants in a New Zealand setting to investigate whether they were showing signs of L2 attrition with accompanying L1 reversion post-retirement, and (b) to identify possible factors which might play a role in the incidence of any L2 attrition and concomitant L1 reversion. Previous research has focused on similar groups of migrants in the Australian context, while New Zealand based research has focused on language shift and maintenance amongst three generations of migrants. The research design involved an analysis of sociolinguistic life, using questionnaires. These included self-assessments of L1 and L2 proficiency at three key times: on arrival in New Zealand, at time of ultimate attainment and post-retirement. Further, an analysis of assessments of respondents’ L1 and L2 proficiency pre-and post-retirement completed by interviewees’ adult children moderated respondents’ self-reports. The findings revealed a considerable overlap between participants’ self-reports and assessments by their adult children. The study also revealed a relationship between participants’ level of prior education and their ultimate attainment in the L2, with those who had come to New Zealand having learned English at Secondary School English very likely to have achieved a “good” or “very good” level of L2 proficiency. Conversely, those who had not learned the L2 at secondary school prior to arriving in New Zealand, were less likely to have achieved a “very good” level of ultimate attainment as evident both from self-reports and assessments by adult children. The design also included a linguistic analysis of elicited free speech. Data focused on key indicators of age, gender, social class, prior education, occupation and predominant linguistic environment pre- and post-retirement. Free speech was examined for code-switching, response latency and L1 structure in respondents’ spoken L2. Results indicated that a majority of respondents showed minimal if any signs of L2 attrition with concomitant L1 reversion, both as evidenced by their spoken L2 and as indicated by self-reports and assessments by adult children. Any signs of L2 attrition which were found appeared linked to respondents’ level of prior education and L2 proficiency on arrival in New Zealand. Being exposed to a predominantly L1 social environment post-retirement also appeared to result in a lifting of the threshold for L2 lexical items, resulting in a slightly increased response latency in the spoken L2. Three participants said they experienced some problems expressing their healthcare needs to medical professionals, to the extent that they were searching for words. All stated they “got there in the end” but needed more time to paraphrase their health needs. Two subjects avoided the use of the L2 during the interview, even when prompted in English. Three respondents engaged in significant codeswitching from L2 to L1 and vice versa, with two engaging in what Muysken (2000) terms “congruent lexicalisation”. Adult childrens’ reports indicated that the respondents in question had always spoken in this manner, but to a greater extent now, post-retirement. Overall, a number of the healthy older subjects interviewed for the study were showing some signs of increased response latency and lexical retrieval problems when expressing themselves in the L2, but none to the degree that they were no longer able to communicate in that language.

D. Tech. Language Practice. / The objective of this study is to draw out, and establish, the attitudes held by Setswana first language (L1)-speaking university students toward their L1, in a context of that L1 being one of the many spoken in a multilingual society, South Africa. The study also aims to test the potential influence of the following nine variables on attitudes toward Setswana: (1) gender; (2) age group; (3) years at university; (4) level of study; (5) competence in Setswana; (6) linguality; (7) location of nurture; (8) field of study; and, (9) type of university attended. The following variables are new in language attitudes studies in South Africa: competence in ones L1; linguality; location of nurture; and, type of university attended.

This thesis investigates the binding of overt and null subject pronouns in second language (L2) acquisition and first language (L1) attrition of Turkish. The aim is to provide a comparative investigation of language transfer effects in the ultimate state of the L2 and L1 grammar. More specifically, it examines transfer effects from English L1 and English L2 into the grammars of Turkish L2 and Turkish L1, respectively. / In this thesis, I propose that the Subset Condition (Berwick, 1985; Manzini & Wexler, 1987) can account for transfer phenomena observed in both L2 acquisition and L1 attrition. I argue that the subset relation that holds between the L1 and the L2 can be a predictor for the extent and duration of cross-linguistic transfer in L2 acquisition and L1 attrition. In other words, whether or not a particular property will resist L2 acquisition and undergo L1 attrition can be determined by looking at the subset relationship between the L1 and the L2 with respect to that property. / The prediction is that in configurations where the 'influencing language' (L1 in L2 acquisition and L2 in L1 attrition) is the superset of the 'affected language' (L2 in L2 acquisition and L1 in L1 attrition), L1 transfer effect will persist in L2 acquisition and we will see more signs of L2 transfer into the L1 grammar, resulting in more attrition effects. / Pronominal binding is chosen to investigate such cross-linguistic transfer effects. English and Turkish differ with respect to governing domains and types of pronominals present in two languages. Turkish, being a pro-drop language, allows null subject pronouns in main and embedded clauses. It also has a special type of anaphoric pronominal, kendisi, for which English has no corresponding form. / Two experiments were conducted to test L2 acquisition and L1 attrition of binding properties of Turkish overt and null subject pronouns under the influence of English. Participants included native English-speakers living in Turkey (end-state L2 Turkish speakers) and native Turkish-speakers living in North America (end-state L2 English speakers). Overall, results obtained from the two studies reveal cross-linguistic transfer effects in the manner predicted. In particular, properties of English overt pronouns (e.g., him/her) are transferred onto the overt Turkish pronoun o in L2 acquisition and in attrition, whereas properties of the Turkish null pronoun and the anaphoric pronominal kendisi are unaffected by English.

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine two groups of healthy older Dutch English bilingual migrants in a New Zealand setting to investigate whether they were showing signs of L2 attrition with accompanying L1 reversion post-retirement, and (b) to identify possible factors which might play a role in the incidence of any L2 attrition and concomitant L1 reversion. Previous research has focused on similar groups of migrants in the Australian context, while New Zealand based research has focused on language shift and maintenance amongst three generations of migrants. The research design involved an analysis of sociolinguistic life, using questionnaires. These included self-assessments of L1 and L2 proficiency at three key times: on arrival in New Zealand, at time of ultimate attainment and post-retirement. Further, an analysis of assessments of respondents’ L1 and L2 proficiency pre-and post-retirement completed by interviewees’ adult children moderated respondents’ self-reports. The findings revealed a considerable overlap between participants’ self-reports and assessments by their adult children. The study also revealed a relationship between participants’ level of prior education and their ultimate attainment in the L2, with those who had come to New Zealand having learned English at Secondary School English very likely to have achieved a “good” or “very good” level of L2 proficiency. Conversely, those who had not learned the L2 at secondary school prior to arriving in New Zealand, were less likely to have achieved a “very good” level of ultimate attainment as evident both from self-reports and assessments by adult children. The design also included a linguistic analysis of elicited free speech. Data focused on key indicators of age, gender, social class, prior education, occupation and predominant linguistic environment pre- and post-retirement. Free speech was examined for code-switching, response latency and L1 structure in respondents’ spoken L2. Results indicated that a majority of respondents showed minimal if any signs of L2 attrition with concomitant L1 reversion, both as evidenced by their spoken L2 and as indicated by self-reports and assessments by adult children. Any signs of L2 attrition which were found appeared linked to respondents’ level of prior education and L2 proficiency on arrival in New Zealand. Being exposed to a predominantly L1 social environment post-retirement also appeared to result in a lifting of the threshold for L2 lexical items, resulting in a slightly increased response latency in the spoken L2. Three participants said they experienced some problems expressing their healthcare needs to medical professionals, to the extent that they were searching for words. All stated they “got there in the end” but needed more time to paraphrase their health needs. Two subjects avoided the use of the L2 during the interview, even when prompted in English. Three respondents engaged in significant codeswitching from L2 to L1 and vice versa, with two engaging in what Muysken (2000) terms “congruent lexicalisation”. Adult childrens’ reports indicated that the respondents in question had always spoken in this manner, but to a greater extent now, post-retirement. Overall, a number of the healthy older subjects interviewed for the study were showing some signs of increased response latency and lexical retrieval problems when expressing themselves in the L2, but none to the degree that they were no longer able to communicate in that language.

Linguists studying language acquisition often assume that once a first language is fully acquired, its mental linguistic representation remains constant and stable. Observations of native language attrition due to the influence of a dominant second language have led researchers to rethink the nature of the first language and consider the possibility that the mental representation of our first language may not be completely stable. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate specific areas of the first language that may be particularly vulnerable to L1 attrition if exposed to a dominant L2. I test Sorace's (2003) Vulnerable Interface Hypothesis, and propose and test the Structural Overlap Hypothesis. The Vulnerable Interface Hypothesis for first language attrition claims that linguistic properties located in the interfaces between the linguistic computational system and external domains (e.g. discourse or pragmatics) are particularly vulnerable to attrition, while internal interfaces (e.g. the syntax-semantics interface) are only somewhat vulnerable to attrition. The domain of narrow syntax is assumed to remain stable unless the L1 begins to attrite in childhood (Montrul, 2008). The Structural Overlap Hypothesis assumes that properties which exhibit structural overlap between the L1 and L2 are more vulnerable to L1 attrition. The predictions of both hypotheses are tested using 15 L1 German adult attriters whose dominant L2 is English, in order to observe the degree of stability of the linguistic system in adult onset bilinguals. Four linguistic properties of German are examined, which are grouped in two pairings of a purely syntactic property with a grammatically related interface property. 15 monolingual L1 German speakers and 15 monolingual L1 English speakers serve as controls. The data obtained also shed light on a frequently debated question of attrition research, viz. whether L1 attrition is due to transfer from the L2, or a decrease in the linguistic processing capacity due to competition of a dominant L2, or both.

Thesis (Ph.D. (African Languages)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The main aim of this study is to analyse some of inconsistencies found in the macro- and micro structural elements of Xitsonga bilingual dictionaries. These dictionaries have more inconsistencies in them. The researcher undertook this study in order to advice lexicography of today about these inconsistencies. The research has also outlined some of the causes of this inconsistencies in Xitsonga bilingual dictionaries and to get ways of improving them by using a corpus.

No description available.

Através desta pesquisa, investigamos efeitos de atrito linguístico (influência da L2 sobre a L1), a partir da produção da vogal átona final /e/ por porto-alegrenses (RS, Brasil), aprendizes de Espanhol como Segunda Língua (L2). Com este propósito, analisamos a produção desta vogal em ambas as línguas dos aprendizes, verificando, mais especificamente, seus padrões acústicos (os valores de F1 e F2, que dizem respeito à altura e à anterioridade da língua, respectivamente, bem como os valores de duração absoluta e relativa) em comparação à produção de monolíngues de Espanhol (variedade de Montevidéu/Uruguai) e de Português Brasileiro (variedade de Porto Alegre – RS/Brasil). Portanto, contamos com três grupos distintos de participantes: (a) um grupo de monolíngues falantes de Espanhol (Grupo Controle 1); (b) um grupo de monolíngues do Português Brasileiro, nativos da grande Porto Alegre/RS (Grupo Controle 2); e (c) um grupo de aprendizes avançados de Espanhol como L2 (Grupo Experimental). Levantamos as seguintes hipóteses de pesquisa: (i) haverá diferença significativa nos valores das frequências formânticas (F1 e F2) e no padrão duracional das produções vocálicas entre as línguas dos bilíngues (Português/L1 e Espanhol/L2), sendo que a vogal /e/ em Espanhol/L2 será mais baixa (menor F1 – em Bark), mais anterior (menor F2 – em Bark) e mais longa (duração absoluta e relativa) do que em Português/L1 (CÂMARA Jr., 1970; CALLOU, MORAES, LEITE, 1996, 2002; VIEIRA, 2002; BISOL, 2003; BATTISTI & VIEIRA, 2005; REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA, 2011; SILVA, 2012; SANTOS, RAUBER, 2016; PEREYRON, 2017); (ii) não haverá diferença significativa, no que diz respeito aos padrões acústicos de F1, F2 e duração (absoluta e relativa), entre a vogal átona final /e/ do Espanhol, produzida pelos bilíngues de nível avançado na L2, e a produzida pelos monolíngues de Espanhol; e (iii) haverá diferença significativa entre os valores de F1, de F2, de duração absoluta e de duração relativa entre a vogal átona final /e/ do PB produzida pelos bilíngues e a sua contraparte produzida pelos monolíngues de PB, pois a vogal átona final /e/ dos bilíngues será mais baixa (menor F1), mais anterior (menor F2) e mais longa do que a dos monolíngues de PB (CALLOU, MORAES, LEITE, 1996, 2002; SILVA, 2012; SANTOS, RAUBER, 2016; PEREYRON, 2017; SCHERECHEWSKY, ALVES, KUPSKE, no prelo). Os dados foram obtidos através de Tarefas de Leitura, nas quais foi solicitado que o participante lesse, em voz alta, 24 frases-veículo que continham os estímulos a serem analisados. Os grupos de monolíngues realizaram apenas a Tarefa de Leitura correspondente à sua Língua Materna (L1), e o grupo de aprendizes realizou uma Tarefa de Leitura em cada língua (Português e Espanhol). Os resultados indicaram que os bilíngues distinguem, em suas produções, a vogal átona final /e/ entre a L1 (Português) e a L2 (Espanhol), embora não tenham desenvolvido o padrão acústico de altura e anterioridade/posterioridade na L2. Além disso, em relação à L1, as produções vocálicas dos bilíngues, estatisticamente, não se diferenciam das dos monolíngues de PB. Entretanto, individualmente, alguns bilíngues apontam sinais de atrito linguístico em altura e anterioridade/posterioridade vocálica. Portanto, a partir das análises dos sistemas de Língua Materna (L1) e Segunda Língua (L2) do grupo de aprendizes, discutimos o que nossos resultados podem sugerir sobre a dinamicidade nas produções dos bilíngues e a possibilidade de atrito linguístico em ambiente de L2 não-dominante, partindo da concepção de Língua como um Sistema Adaptativo Complexo (cf. GONÇALVES et al., 1995; BECKNER et al., 2009; ALBANO, 2012). / In this study, we investigate the occurrence of language attrition (L2-L1 influence) in the production of the word-final unstressed vowel /e/ by speakers from the city of Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil), learners of Spanish as a Second Language (L2). Departing from this goal, we analyze this vowel in the two language systems produced by these learners. We verify their acoustic patterns (F1 and F2, as well as absolute and relative durations) in comparison to the vowels produced by Brazilian Portuguese monolinguals (from the city of Porto Alegre - Brazil) and Spanish monolinguals (from the city of Montevideo – Uruguay). Therefore, three groups of participants took part in this study: (a) Spanish monolinguals (Control Group 1); (b) Brazilian Portuguese monolinguals (Control Group 2); and (c) a group of Brazilian learners of Spanish showing an advanced level of proficiency (Experimental Group). We hypothesize that (i) there will be significant differences in F1, F2 and (absolute and relative) durational values between the two languages of the bilingual participants (L1: Portuguese, L2: Spanish), as the final vowel /e/ in L2 Spanish will be lower (lower F1 Bark value), more fronted (lower F2 Bark value) and longer (both in absolute and relative values) than in L1 Portuguese (CÂMARA Jr., 1970; CALLOU, MORAES, LEITE, 1996, 2002; VIEIRA, 2002; BISOL, 2003; BATTISTI & VIEIRA, 2005; REAL ACADEMIA ESPAÑOLA, 2011; SILVA, 2012; SANTOS, RAUBER, 2016; PEREYRON, 2017); (ii) there will not be significant differences in the production of word-final unstressed /e/ in Spanish, in terms of formant frequencies (F1 and F2 values) and duration (absolute and relative values), between the productions by the L2 leaners and the native speakers of Spanish; (iii) there will be significant differences, in terms of formant frequencies (F1 and F2 values) and duration (absolute and relative values), in the productions in Brazilian Portuguese by monolinguals and L2 leaners of Spanish, as the vowels produced by the latter will be lower (lower F1 value), more fronted (lower F2 value) and longer than those produced by the monolinguals (CALLOU, MORAES, LEITE, 1996, 2002; SILVA, 2012; PEREYRON, 2017; SANTOS, RAUBER, 2016; SCHERECHEWSKY, ALVES, KUPSKE, in press). The data were collected through a reading task, in which participants were asked to read 24 carrier sentences with the target words. The two Control Groups sat for one of the tasks only, while the L2 learners took part in both tasks (Portuguese and Spanish). Our results show that the L2 leaners are able to produce a difference between Brazilian Portuguese (L1) /e/ and Spanish (L2) /e/, even though the target L2 pattern has not been fully developed. As for the L1 productions, significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals have not been found. However, when analyzed individually, some learners show some signs of language attrition in their F1 and F2 values. This considered, by analyzing these participants’ L1 and L2 systems individually, we discuss the possibility of language attrition in an L2 non-dominant environment, as we provide support to a view of language as a Complex, Adaptive System.