A model for L1 grammatical attrition
A model for L1 grammatical attrition
This article proposes a formal model of the human language faculty that accommodates the possibility of ‘attrition’ (modification or loss) of morphosyntactic properties in a first language. Modelling L1grammatical attrition entails a quite fundamental paradox: if the structure of the language faculty in principle allows for attrition of morphosyntax, why is it apparently so heavily constrained and rarely attested? We demonstrate that the attrition paradox can be resolved with a model that integrates a formally explicit generative grammar (eschewing classical parameters in favour of functional feature assemblies; see Chomsky 2000, 2001) into a generalised model of language acquisition that decouples linguistic input from acquisitional intake (following Lidz and Gagliardi 2015). This implementation makes specific predictions about the input and intake conditions that favour and disfavour L1 attrition. We explore these predictions for one of the most widely studied areas of attrition, namely the realisation of pronominals.
L1 attrition, faculty of language, input, intake, language acquisition
143-165
Hicks, Glyn
1f3753b1-1224-4cd3-8af3-5bf708062831
Dominguez, Laura
9c1bf2b4-b582-429b-9e8a-5264c4b7e63f
1 April 2020
Hicks, Glyn
1f3753b1-1224-4cd3-8af3-5bf708062831
Dominguez, Laura
9c1bf2b4-b582-429b-9e8a-5264c4b7e63f
Hicks, Glyn and Dominguez, Laura
(2020)
A model for L1 grammatical attrition.
Second Language Research, 36 (2), .
(doi:10.1177/0267658319862011).
Abstract
This article proposes a formal model of the human language faculty that accommodates the possibility of ‘attrition’ (modification or loss) of morphosyntactic properties in a first language. Modelling L1grammatical attrition entails a quite fundamental paradox: if the structure of the language faculty in principle allows for attrition of morphosyntax, why is it apparently so heavily constrained and rarely attested? We demonstrate that the attrition paradox can be resolved with a model that integrates a formally explicit generative grammar (eschewing classical parameters in favour of functional feature assemblies; see Chomsky 2000, 2001) into a generalised model of language acquisition that decouples linguistic input from acquisitional intake (following Lidz and Gagliardi 2015). This implementation makes specific predictions about the input and intake conditions that favour and disfavour L1 attrition. We explore these predictions for one of the most widely studied areas of attrition, namely the realisation of pronominals.
Text
Hicks and Dominguez (In press). A Model for L1 Grammatical Attrition
- Accepted Manuscript
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Hicks & Dominguez L1 attrition paper SLR
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Accepted/In Press date: 21 May 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 July 2019
Published date: 1 April 2020
Keywords:
L1 attrition, faculty of language, input, intake, language acquisition
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Local EPrints ID: 431390
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/431390
ISSN: 0267-6583
PURE UUID: 74f91049-b178-4b20-b819-95766bcf6045
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Date deposited: 31 May 2019 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:56
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