CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

This research sets out to investigate language attrition among English language speakers. This chapter comprises of the following; background to the study, introduction, statement of the problem, the objectives, research questions and the definition of key terms which are relevant to the structure of the research.

1.2 Background To The Study

The study of individuals’ language attrition has become a vibrant subfield of applied linguistics (Ammerlaan, Hulsen, Strating, & Yagmur, 2001; de Bot, 1996; de Bot & Weltens, 1995; Lambert & Freed, 1982; Weltens & Cohen, 1989).

Language attrition in individual speakers may contribute to language change at the community and global level (cf. Meisel, 2001; Seliger, 1996). Some languages are gaining influence as first languages (L1) and second languages (L2) in a world characterized by globalization and migration, whereas other languages (often the L1 of minorities) and dialects are in decline and in danger of becoming forgotten (Crystal, 2000; Dorian, 1989; Grenoble & Whaley, 1998; Hyltenstam & Obler, 1989; Münstermann, 1989; Wong Fillmore, 1991).

The knowledge and use of language(s) by individual speakers is in continuous flux. It is dynamic in nature and subject to change, that is, both to the acquisition of (novel) language structures and the attrition / loss of (obsolete) structures (Herdina & Jessner, 2002; Hyltenstam & Viberg, 1993).

Whereas the growth of language skills has been a subject of scientific inquiry for a long time, the decline of language skills has been studied systematically only for about 20 years, mostly by applied linguists (see Hansen, 2001; Lambert & Freed, 1982; Schmid & de Bot, in press; Seliger & Vago, 1991; Weltens, 1987; Weltens & Cohen, 1989).

Only a limited number of studies have investigated language attrition with reference to psychological or psycholinguistic theories (cf. Ammerlaan, 1996; de Bot, 1999; de Bot & Stoessel, 2000; Kenny, 1996; Pan & Berko Gleason, 1986).

On the other hand, psycho- logical studies about the remembering and forgetting of verbal and nonverbal information have devoted little or no attention to the forgetting of language in healthy individuals across the lifespan (e.g., Ashcraft, 1989; Golding & MacLeod, 1998; Schacter, 1996). Increasingly, however, also psychologists and speech scientists are becoming interested in the fields of bilingualism and language attrition (e.g., Kohnert, Bates, & Hernandez, 1999; McElree, Jia, & Litvak, 2000; Yeni-Komshian, Flege, & Liu, 2000).

The present project  is an attempt to review psychological assumptions about forgetting and research into language attrition that may be of common interest to psychologists and linguists. It is intended as a positive response to the question asked by Ammerlaan et al. (2001, p. 3): “should linguists employ insights and notions from decades of psychological research on memory performance in their work, or merely dismiss the findings as being based on experimental work on a limited area of vocabulary?”

Applied linguists have been skeptical with respect to the potential contribution of psychological theories to the study of language attrition. Weltens and Grendel (1993), for example, came to the conclusion that psychological theories of forgetting have relatively little to offer for the study of L2 lexical attrition (also Weltens, 1987).

The present discussion represents a more optimistic view and intends to demonstrate that part of the general psychological insight into forgetting may be of value for hypothesis formation and explanation of language attrition, which in turn can reveal important insight into the functioning of the human language faculty (Slobin, 1977).

In the context of the present discussion, language attrition refers to the decline of any language (L1 or L2), skill or portion thereof in a healthy individual speaker. The review will take into account attrition at the phonological, morphological, lexical, syntactic, and semantic levels. Since most research has been conducted on the lexicon, however, lexical loss will somewhat dominate the present discussion.

Because of space limitations, language loss due to brain injury (aphasia) or severe pathological changes due to aging (dementia) will not be included in the review (see, e.g., Hyltenstam & Stroud, 1993; Paradis, 1995, 2001). Studies of language shift (e.g., Fishman, 1972), that is, the gradual change of language use in generations of a community will only be considered if they encompass information on individual language loss.

The first part of the research work explores the phenomena of forgetting and language attrition in relation to each other. The second part summarizes main assumptions about forgetting advocated in psychological theories as a foundation for the paper’s third and main section that reviews findings from language attrition studies that seem consistent with or related to psychological explanations of forgetting.

1.3 Statement Of Problem

It has been observed that most English language speakers in our society today have either lost their native or first language due to attrition. There are several factors that cause English language attrition such as multilingualism, bilingualism, mother tongue, the use of jargons, slangs.

Language attrition can be well observed in Cameroon due to the many languages or native languages that we have, all these can cause language attrition. English language attrition results in a decree of language proficiency and this is manifested in a speaker’s vocabulary (in their lexical access) while grammatical and especially phonological representations appear more stable among speakers who emigrated after puberty.

However, a person’s age can as well predict the likelihood of attrition and children are more likely to lose their first language than adults. The research seeks to find language attrition among English language speakers in the University of Buea.

1.4 The Research Question

In view of the research problems stated above, the following are some possible questions that seeks to investigate English language attrition among most English language speakers in English language speaking.

1.4.1 Main Research Question

How has English language attrition affected most English language speakers?

1.4.2 Sub-Research Questions

1. What are the causes of English language attrition towards English language speakers?
2. How can English language attrition be improved?

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