First Language Attrition: The Effects of English (L2) on Brazilian Portuguese VOT Patterns in an L1-Dominant Environment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-4301.2017.2.26365Keywords:
Complex adaptive systems, Language attrition, Voice Onset Time.Abstract
Departing from a view of language as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) (BECKNER et al., 2009; DE BOT et al., 2013), this paper discusses language attrition, by verifying possible attrition symptoms in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) among learners of English living in Brazil (an L1-dominant environment). We analyze the Voice Onset Time (VOT) of voiced and voiceless, bilabial and velar initial plosives in BP. There were 33 participants in the study (11 monolinguals of BP, 11 intermediate learners of English, and 11 advanced learners of English). All participants produced, individually, a reading task of words in BP. ANOVA tests demonstrated a significant difference among groups regarding the voiceless velar plosive, suggesting the occurrence of first language attrition in this segment. No significant differences between intermediate and advanced learners of English were found. These results, although suggesting that attrition is less common in contexts of L1 dominance, allow us to consider the possibility of occurrence of this phenomenon, providing evidence in favor of a bidirectional linguistic transfer in a bilingual setting.
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