17. First language attrition and contact linguistics

Abstract

Language attrition research investigates the process of change or deterioration of knowledge in a language that has previously been acquired by an individual: When speakers change their linguistic environment, they often undergo attrition partly through interference from the dominant contact language (externally induced), and partly through reduced accessibility due to non-use (internally induced). Similarly, growing contact with the dominant language can eventually result in change of either form or function in the language of a society and, in extreme cases, lead to language shift and loss over time. As such, attrition research describes the incipient stages of potential wider, contact-induced language change and thus can provide valuable insight for questions in the field of contact linguistics such as maintenance and loss of languages at the societal level and across generations and the nature of very early stages of contactinduced language change. The aim of this chapter is to provide a selective overview of previous research on first language (L1) attrition in order to demonstrate its relevance for explanations of contact-induced language change at the societal and intergenerational level.