Language Attrition

Language attrition is the process of decreasing proficiency in or losing a language, whether a first language or a second one. For first-language speakers, attrition typically follows isolation from other native speakers of that language combined with interference from a second language the person has come to use daily, and the effect is most pronounced in speakers for whom a non-native language has become dominant in their everyday life. Second-language attrition instead follows from inadequate practice and retention over time, particularly among bilinguals who rarely use their second language. Research shows that a person's age at the time of exposure to a dominant new language predicts how likely attrition is, with children demonstrably more likely than adults to lose a first language, and that attrition shows up first in vocabulary before it affects grammar and pronunciation, particularly among people who emigrated after adolescence. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/