Abstract
This chapter clarifies what first language (L1) lexical attrition is and synthesizes the literature that describes its varied manifestations as well as the three most prominent hypotheses that have been formulated to account for how, why, when, and where L1 lexical attrition will occur. These include the dormant language hypothesis, threshold hypothesis, and interference hypothesis. The chapter also discusses the findings of past studies that have investigated the potential effects of linguistic, social, and psycholinguistic variables on the L1 lexical fluency and accuracy of language learners, bilinguals, and multilinguals. Additionally, the chapter describes the proper use of existing methods for measuring L1 lexical attrition in relation to lexical accuracy, fluency, and complexity through tasks designed to elicit free-production, controlled, and paralinguistic (e.g., reaction-time) data, and through the use of instruments specially designed to measure lexical complexity in free-production data. The chapter concludes with recommendations for necessary future research.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
