Language Attrition and the Competition Model

This chapter explores ways in which the Competition Model can illuminate our understanding of language attrition. The analysis begins by formulating four key puzzles that arise from empirical studies of language attrition. These involve the role of permastore, variation across linguistic levels, patterns of forgetting during childhood, and the neural network problem of catastrophic interference. We then consider how the interplay between cognitive and social processes envisioned in the Competition Model can help in the formulation of solutions to these various puzzles.