Is first language attrition possible without second language knowledge?
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Liubov Baladzhaeva
Abstract
The study explores whether Russian immigrants in Israel with no knowledge of Hebrew (L2) can experience attrition of Russian (L1). Immigrants with no knowledge of Hebrew (−Hebrew), bilingual immigrants who know Russian and Hebrew (+Hebrew), and monolingual controls were compared on lexical retrieval, correctness judgment of collocations, future tense formation, confidence in providing answers to two tasks and the time it took to complete them. Both immigrant groups showed signs of L1 attrition of collocations and of future tense formation, and the –Hebrew group performed significantly worse than +Hebrew group on future tense formation. The three groups did not differ in time-on-task. The –Hebrew group was less confident than the other groups in one task. Low and significant correlations were found between some sociolinguistic factors and test results. We conclude that first language attrition can occur both when immigrants acquire a second language and when they remain monolingual.
Appendices
Sociolinguistic questionnaire translated into English
In what language do you read books, magazines and newspapers?
In Russian
In Hebrew
In both languages
In what language do you watch TV and/or movies?
In Russian
In Hebrew
In both languages
In what language do you read news and other material on the websites, search the Internet, and participate in social networks (Facebook, Livejournal, Twitter etc.)?
In Russian
In Hebrew
In both languages
I what language do you speak with your family and friends?
In Russian
In Hebrew
In both languages
During the week you use the Russian language …
Less than 10 hours
10–15 hours
15–30 hours
More than 30 hours
During the week you use the Hebrew language …
Less than 10 hours
10–15 hours
15–30 hours
More than 30 hours
Scoring: In the first four questions about language use each language received 1 point. In the last two questions each language received 1 to 4 points depending on the answer, (a) to (d) respectively. The points were added in order to calculate the score for each language which could range from 1 to 8 for Russian and from 0 to 8 for Hebrew.
Collocations – Correctness Judgment Task
The sentences are in the order they were presented to the participants. Sentences with incorrect collocations are marked in bold and the rest of the sentences are distracters. The incorrect collocations are underlined. Obviously, no typographical differences were used in the tests given to the participants. Translation is provided in square brackets.
Завтра мы поедем в зоопарк.
[Tomorrow we will go to the zoo]
*Вам нужно спуститься из автобуса через три остановки.
[You need to exit the bus three stops after now].
В библиотеку поступили новые книги.
[The library received new books].
Я учусь три раза в неделю, с восьми до пяти.
[I study three times a week, from eight to five].
*Дорога от школы до дома берет 15 минут.
[The walk home from school takes 15 minutes].
*Каждую зиму я поправляюсь и каждую весну делаю диету.
[Every Winter I gain weight and every Spring I put myself on a diet].
В поликлинике был перерыв, поэтому нам пришлось туда вернуться после обеда.
[The clinic was on a break that is why we had to return there in the afternoon].
Завтра отключат воду на два часа из-за ремонта труб.
[Tomorrow there will be no water for two hours because of the pipe renovation works].
*Возьми автобус №10, он идет прямо до рынка.
[Take the bus #10, it goes directly to the market].
Мы обычно отмечаем праздники у моих родителей.
[We usually celebrate holidays at my parents’ place].
*Закрой, пожалуйста, кондиционер, мне холодно.
[Please, turn off the air conditioner, I’m cold].
*Инна ведет активный образ жизни и делает спорт почти каждый день.
[Inna is very active physically, she trains (does sport) almost every day].
Каждое утро он ест на завтрак овсянку.
[Every morning he eats oatmeal fro breakfast].
Не забудь купить молоко, когда пойдешь в магазин.
[Don’t forget to buy milk when you go to the store].
*Экзаменатор спрашивал много вопросов.
[The tester asked me a lot of questions].
*Наш договор аренды заканчивается через два месяца, поэтому придется переезжать квартиру.
[Our lease is up in two months, because of that we will have to move to another apartment].
Нашей стиральной машине уже 10 лет, поэтому мы хотим купить новую.
[Our washer machine is 10 years old already, therefore, we want to buy a new one].
Мои друзья устраивают пикник в следующие выходные.
[My friends are organizing a picnic next weekend].
*Это лекарство нужно брать три раза в день после еды.
[This drug has to be taken three times a day after a meal].
*Она сегодня прошла последний экзамен.
[Today she passed the last exam].
Сегодня было много работы, поэтому я очень устала.
[I had a lot of work today that’s why I’m so tired].
Future Tense Formation Task
Сейчас черешня дорогая, но уже через две недели ______________.
[At the moment cherries are expensive, but already in two weeks _______.]
Кисель пока горячий, подожди немного, он скоро ______________.
[The kissel is still hot, wait a bit, it will soon ______________.]
Я включила бойлер, вода скоро _____________________________.
[I turned on the water heater, water soon _______.]
Наш холодильник уже не новый, но он _________________ еще лет десять.
[Our fridge is already not new but it ___________ 10 more years.]
Не уноси журнал, я _____________________________ его попозже.
[Don’t take away the magazine, I _______________ it later.]
Я пропустила сегодня новую серию сериала, завтра _______________ повтор.
[I missed the new episode of the show, tomorrow _______________ a rerun].
Начальник сейчас в командировке, я __________________ с ним о новом проекте на следующей неделе.
[The boss is on the business trip right now, I _______________ with him about the new project next week.]
Она сегодня получила письмо от подруги, завтра ________________ ей ответ.
[She has received a letter from her girlfriend today, tomorrow _______________ answer to her.]
Если я буду есть выпечку каждый день, я скоро __________________.
[If I’ll eat pastries every day, I soon _______________.]
Я никак не могу найти книжку, которую мне нужно вернуть в библиотеку, еще завтра ____________________________.
[I can’t find the book that I need to return to the library, tomorrow _______________again.]
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© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Is first language attrition possible without second language knowledge?
- The development of aspectual marking in Cantonese-English bilingual children
- Korean L2 speakers’ regulatory focus and oral task performance
- Vocabulary acquisition and young learners: Different tasks, similar involvement loads
- The role of text type and strategy use in L2 lexical inferencing
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Is first language attrition possible without second language knowledge?
- The development of aspectual marking in Cantonese-English bilingual children
- Korean L2 speakers’ regulatory focus and oral task performance
- Vocabulary acquisition and young learners: Different tasks, similar involvement loads
- The role of text type and strategy use in L2 lexical inferencing
