Accuracy and Complexity in L1 Attriters: Age at Emigration versus Type of Continued L1 Use

Session Submission Type: Paper

Summary

The free speech of 73 L1 German attriters in an L2 English context (range of Age at Emigration: 7-17 years) is analyzed on several measures of accuracy and complexity. Results do not indicate a clear impact of Age at Emigration but rather of continued L1 use, especially in professional settings.

Abstract

A recurrent finding in first language attrition research is that the age (AaE) at which attriters switch from an L1 to L2 dominant context appears to impact their amount of attrition. Pre-puberty attriters with an AaE below 12 seem to be susceptible to a more severe amount of attrition than attriters with a higher AaE. While there are reports of a complete loss of the L1 in the pre-puberty group (Pallier et al., 2003; Pierce et al., 2014; Ventureyra, Pallier, & Yoo, 2004), adolescent/adult attriters often still show a level of L1 proficiency similar to that of non-attriters (Schmid, 2014). However, the evidence for this AaE effect is mainly based on studies that have either looked at child or at adolescent/adult attriters only.

The current study takes a step towards closing this gap by looking at 73 L1 German attriters in an L2 English context (AaE range: 7-17 years; length of residence: 46-70 years). Transcripts of free L1 speech were coded for morphosyntactic errors and syntactic and phrasal complexity; independent variables include AaE, AaE Group (pre- vs post-puberty) and amount of L1 use. Mixed-model logistic regression analyses revealed that there is no significant effect of AaE or AaE Group on error rates; instead, the best model includes amount of L1 use in addition to AaE Group. Additional analyses indicate that the professional use of the L1 might be a particularly important factor moderating attrition effects. Preliminary analyses of the complexity measures point in the same direction.

The results do not confirm the earlier reports of a clear difference between pre- and post-puberty attriters. AaE alone cannot predict the severity of attrition effects. Instead, L1 use, in particular professional L1 use, seems to play an important role, confirming Schmid (2007).

Strand

• Second Language Acquisition, Language Acquisition, and Attrition

Non-Presenters

• Monika Schmid, University of Groningen

• Cornelia Lahmann, University of Groningen

Presenter

• Rasmus Steinkrauss, University of Groningen