The effects of bilingualism: code-switching and language attrition

Abstract

Bilingualism is a growing phenomenon, especially with the increasing rates of migration in our era of globalization. The purpose of this review article is to shed light on bilingualism in general and its effects in particular. As it covers the most relevant results from international scholars on code-switching, language acquisition, and language attrition, this study may serve as a useful foundation for future studies. The review investigates two contexts of bilingualism: sociological and psychological, and gives insight into the concept of bilingualism and what it entails. According to the findings, the age at onset of bilingualism is one of the key elements in language acquisition. This concept indicates that there are varying levels of bilingualism depending on age and L1 and L2 practice in daily life. Furthermore, with the help of the Matrix Language Frame model, in various experiments, the dominant language was detected as opposed to the subordinate one. We believe that there is a need for further research on bilingualism.