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Research Findings on Early First Language Attrition: Implications for the Discussion on Critical Periods in Language Acquisition
Author(s) -
Francis Norbert
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.0023-8333.2005.00313.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental linguistics , linguistics , second language attrition , language acquisition , second language acquisition , linguistic competence , neuroscience of multilingualism , first language , language transfer , attrition , grammar , comprehension approach , developmental psychology , language education , mathematics education , medicine , philosophy , dentistry , neuroscience
Childhood bilingualism may develop toward a steady state of balanced competence in 2 languages or toward an imbalanced competence in which one of the child's languages begins to undergo attrition or early stabilization. In child second language learning an analogous distinction is often drawn between additive and subtractive bilingualism. This review of the research focuses on the latter, the developmental shift toward 1 primary/dominant language. The studies of first language attrition reviewed in this article also offer a new way of looking at related questions in the field of language learning: critical period effects in first and second language, access to Universal Grammar in second language learning, and the componential nature of language ability.