Morphological Attrition

Abstract

This chapter provides a review of research on morphological aspects of first language (L1) attrition, focusing on derivational and inflectional morphology in various languages. Morphological attrition is considered from perspectives of the Markedness Theory (e.g., Sharwood Smith, 1994), Regression Hypothesis (e.g., Keijzer, 2010a), Activation Threshold Hypothesis (e.g., Paradis, 2007), Interface Hypothesis (e.g., Sorace, 2011), and 4-M Model (e.g., Myers-Scotton & Jake, 2017). Two main directions in accounting for differential susceptibility of morphemes to attrition are identified: a) focus on inherent properties of morphemes; and b) focus on mechanisms underlying morphological processing. The chapter concludes by considering challenges faced by morphological studies, including lack of consistency in types of informants, data, and data collection techniques, and limitations of the available theoretical approaches for the analysis of the complexity and variety of morphological operations and morphemes that become restructured, modified, and ultimately lost in the course of L1 attrition.