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Mechanisms of First Language Forgetting. Ludmila Isurin Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

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Mechanisms of First Language Forgetting. Ludmila Isurin Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1999 Mechanisms of First Language Forgetting. Ludmila Isurin Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Isurin, Ludmila, "Mechanisms of First Language Forgetting." (1999). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 6996. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/6996 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MECHANISMS OF FIRST LANGUAGE FORGETTING A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillm ent of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Interdepartmental Program in Linguistics by Ludmila Isurin M.A. St. Petersburg State University (Russia), 1981 August 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9945723 UM I Microform 9945723 Copyright 1999, by UM I Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, M I 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dedicated to my dearest daughter Polly who never had a chance to live in the country of her first language ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. t a b l e o f c o n t e n t s DEDICATION............................................................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES........................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES.......................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT...................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1. LANGUAGE FORGETTING. GENERAL REVIEW 1.1 Can we forget our native language? ............................................. 1 1.2 What is forgetting............................................................................. 2 1.3 What is language forgetting ........................................................... 4 1.4 L1 vs. L2 forgetting........................................................................... 4 1.5 Factors affecting L2 forgetting....................................................... 8 1.5.1 Length of exposure to L2 ............................................... 8 1.5.2 Length of the period of non-use .................................. 8 1.5.3 Level of original proficiency ................................... 8 1.5.4 Age...................................................................................... 9 1.5.5 Other factors ...................................................................... 9 1.6 Factors affecting L1 forgetting...................................................... 9 1.6.1 Length of exposure to L1 and L2 ................................ 10 1.6.2 Length of the period of non-use ................................ 11 1.6.3 L1 and L2 proficiency ...................................................... 11 1.6.4 Age and the Critical Period Hypothesis ....................... 13 1.6.5 Other factors ...................................................................... 22 1.7 Mechanisms of L1 forgetting ......................................................... 23 1.7.1 Decay .................................................................................. 23 1.7.2 Replacement ...................................................................... 23 1.7.3 Interference or retrieval failure ...................................... 24 1.7.4 Direction of interference ................................................ 24 1.7.5 Interference and processing simplicity ........................ 25 1.7.6 Interference and notion of markedness ....................... 26 1.7.7 Retrieval failure due to the lack of practice 28 1.7.8 Forgetting and level of processing ............................... 28 1.8 Areas of L1 forgetting...................................................................... 29 1.8.1 Phonology ........................................................................ 30 1.8.2 Vocabulary ........................................................................ 31 1.8.3 Morphology ........................................................................ 36 1.8.4 Syntax ................................................................................ 40 1.9 Summary ............................................................................................. 53 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER 2. CASE STUDY 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 56 2.2 Subject .................................................................................................. 57 2.3 M ethod .................................................................................................. 59 2.4 Stimuli and tasks ................................................................................ 59 2.4.1 Morphology and syntax .................................................. 59 2.4.2 Vocabulary ......................................................................... 62 2.5 Findings: Morphology ....................................................................... 65 2.5.1 Russian morphology ......................................................... 65 2.5.2 Changes in case marking ............................................... 67 2.5.3 Changes in plural marking .............................................. 70 2.5.4 Generalization error .......................................................... 72 2.5.5 Loss of reflexive particle ................................................ 74 2.5.6 Omission error with change of semantics .................. 76 2.6 Findings: Syntax ............................................................................... 77 2.6.1 Objects in verbal phrases ............................................... 77 2.6.2 Word order in English and Russian ............................... 79 2.6.3 Changes in word order ................................................... 82 2.6.4 Changes in sentence structure ...................................... 90 2.6.5 Code-switching ................................................................ 93 2.7 Findings: Vocabulary ........................................................................ 96 2.7.1 General trends ................................................................... 96 2.7.2 Nouns vs. verbs ................................................................ 99 2.7.3 Across item analysis ....................................................... 103 2.7.4 Cognates ............................................................................ 103 2.7.5 Non-distinguished categories ........................................ 11 1 2.7.6 Loss of high-frequency words ....................................... 11 3 2.7.7 Retrieval practice and forgetting ................................... 117 2.7.8 Within-category confusion ............................................ 118 2.7.9 Idiosyncratic findings ....................................................... 119 2.7.10 Level of language activation ......................................... 121 2.7.11 Blocking effect ................................................................
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