Introduction

In most immigrant communities across the United States, English eventually fulfills communicative functions once allocated to immigrants' native languages. The immigrant language falls into disuse, and subsequent generations attain only faulty mastery of its rules if they learn it at all. Of interest in this study is the linguistic integrity of the language as it falls into disuse. If speakers no longer use their native language for daily discourse, does the reduction of function result in a corresponding reduction of linguistic form? Linguistic change due to disuse is only one aspect of first language attrition. Attrition may also occur even while the language continues to fulfill daily discourse functions. In intimate contact with a dominant language, minority languages often exhibit changes which suggest attrition in spite of their maintenance. Linguistic change due to disuse and linguistic convergence toward a dominant language due to contact represent two kinds of attrition, and both may be realized as individual or communal language behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to describe instances of language change and convergence as processes of attrition. First language attrition occurs in individuals whose lives have changed in such a way that they have little or no opportunity to use their native language, perhaps for most of their adult years. The language of such individuals exhibits evidence of faulty application of their native language rules.