33.2032, Disc: Language Attrition in Second Languages

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-33-2032. Thu Jun 16 2022. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 33.2032, Disc: Language Attrition in Second Languages

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Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2022 02:34:35
From: Mirna Secic [mirna.secic at gmail.com]
Subject: Language Attrition in Second Languages

 
How worried should a bilingual person be about language attrition if one of
the languages they’re fluent in is English?

Persons native language is a South Slavic language, however they started
learning and using English at age 3, moved to an English speaking country at
18 and been here for over 13 years. They are fully bilingual, as their day to
day interactions are in English however they speak their native language
frequently enough that it’s as natural as it once was.

They think and dream in both, however internal dialogue is mostly in English. 

Let’s say they move back to their home country. They have limited
opportunities to speak English in day to day life but are still consuming
online content exclusively in English, and are exposed to English via music,
tv, books, etc.

What are the chances they would fully forget their second “native” language if
it’s a language they’re exposed to every day? How soon would it happen? And
how to avoid it?? 

I am extremely curious about language attrition of the second language when
the language in question is a common one such as English. Most sources say it
is extremely difficult to forget your native tongue, however I am having a
hard time finding sources for language attrition of the second language if you
are bilingual. I also have a very hard time finding data on how to determine
if someone is truly bilingual. Logic tells me if someone is truly bilingual
then both of the languages will be very hard to forget, yet the data suggests
that attrition will happen with the second language regardless of how long it
was used in day to day life. I would appreciate insight from experts.

Many thanks in advance.




Linguistic Field(s): Cognitive Science

Subject Language(s): Croatian (hrv)
                     English (eng)

Language Family(ies): South Slavic



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