Íslenskt mál og almenn málfræði - 01.01.1985, Page 51

BERGLJÓT BALDURSDÓTTIR
Language Shift in an Icelandic Child:
A Longitudinal Case Study of Language Attrition
1. Introduction
Andersen (1982:87) pointed out that a restriction in language use ac-
companied by a break with a previously established linguistic tradition
may lead to reduction in linguistic form and creation of gaps in people’s
repertoire in that language. Freed (1982:1) uses the term language attri-
tion to describe the process which occurs when a language, or any por-
tion of language is being lost by an individual or a speech community.
Recently there has been an increasing interest in language attrition.
This has undoubtedly its origin in pidgin and creole studies. Hymes
(1971:65) points out that researchers studying pidgin and creole lan-
guages have found four kinds of change, two functional (change in
scope of use and change in status and a norm) and two structural (re-
duction or expansion and simplification or complication of linguistic
structure). Generally speaking, these studies have highlighted the inter-
dependence of language and society, i.e. how reduction in use (func-
tion) might affect the language (form). Language attrition has been
studied in several areas of linguistics. As said before, pidgin and creole
studies, studies of minority languages, immigrant languages, second
language attrition and more recently language death. The researchers
are interested in reduced linguistic systems caused by languages in con-
tact or reduction of use of one language because of the presence of
another more „dominant“ language.
When a community has become bilingual, one of the languages, fre-
quently, takes over many of the functions of the other language. At this
point a process of language attrition or language death may start.
Karttunen (1977) studied the changes occurring in the language of a
Finnish family living in America. She points out that the Finns who
had immigrated fifty years earlier felt that their Finnish had deterior-
ated badly over the time. This was confirmed by visitors from Finland
who were shocked by the Americanization of their Finnish. A great