When a foreign language interferes with your native language: The relationship between second-language acquisition and first-language attrition

我的博士项目着眼于青春期后学习第二语言如何影响一个人说他或她自己的第一语言的方式;在发展语言学中，这被称为第一语言磨蚀。我特别感兴趣的是，第一语言的磨蚀是否对不同领域的语言能力产生同样程度的影响，磨蚀是否与第二语言的习得密切相关。换句话说：记忆单词的能力是否比用第一语言形成合乎语法的句子的能力受到的影响更大？但是，第二语言学习是否也会影响你用第一语言说话的方式--你的口音在第一语言中可能会变得不那么像母语？此外，我对那些反过来可能影响一个人的第一语言损耗程度的因素很感兴趣，比如第二语言输入的类型和数量，主动说这种语言所花费的时间，以及第二语言的熟练程度。我的最终目标是不仅要了解什么，而且要了解谁会受到“磨损”--是最熟练的第二语言学习者吗？那些沉浸在外语环境中的人？还是不太熟练的课堂学习者？为了解决这些未被充分研究的问题，我将从不同的语言学习者群体中收集数据：在英国，我将研究在课堂上学习意大利语与在国外学习意大利语一个学期的比较;同样，在意大利，我将研究在课堂上学习英语与在国外学习英语一个学期的比较。然后，我将研究学习意大利语对英语的影响，以及英语学习对意大利语的影响。我将在意大利语和英语中考察的语言领域是：（1）词汇通达（即回忆单词的能力）;（2）句法和语用的界面（即受语境特征（如代词）约束的结构的解释和产生）;（3）韵律（即通过在特定单词上放置重音来强调句子）。在我的分析中，我将试图了解这些领域是否同样受到磨损的影响，沉浸在外语环境中是否在磨损的发生中发挥作用，以及第二语言能力和第一语言磨损之间是否存在联系。我对这个博士课题的个人兴趣源于我自己的背景：15岁时，我获得了美国战地服务团的奖学金，得以在田纳西州的纳什维尔上高中。一年后，当我回到意大利时，每当我记不住单词，或者当我用意大利语说的话没有多大意义时，我的父母和我都感到非常惊讶。几年后，当我在大学里被介绍到第二语言习得和第一语言磨蚀的领域时，我明白了：我当时--直到今天仍然--经历着第一语言的磨蚀。然而，要准确地理解第一语言磨蚀是如何工作的，还有很多工作要做：因此，我的项目解决了我们目前对这一现象的认识中的一些空白。此外，我相信，更深入地了解自然减员和语言学习的一般不仅有利于我，但我们越来越多的双语和多语言的社会作为一个整体。

My PhD project looks at how learning a second language after puberty may have effects on the way one speaks his or her own first language;what, in developmental linguistics, is known as first-language attrition. I am particularly interested in understanding whether first-language attrition affects different domains of linguistic competence to the same degree, and whether attrition goes hand in hand with second-language acquisition. To put it in other words: is the ability to remember words influenced more than that of forming grammatical sentences in your first language? But also, does second language learning affect the way you sound in your first language, too - in that your accent might get less native-like in your first language? Additionally, I am intrigued by the factors which, in turn, might mediate the degree of first-language attrition that one experiences - such as the type and quantity of input in the second language, the amount of time spent actively speaking the language, and the degree of proficiency reached in the second language. I ultimately aim to understand not only what, but also who gets 'attrited'- is it the most proficient second-language learners? Those who are immersed in a foreign-language environment? Or less proficient, classroom-based learners, too? In order to address these under-examined issues, I will be gathering data from different groups of language learners: in the UK, I will look at how learning Italian in a classroom compares to studying Italian abroad for a semester; similarly, in Italy, I will look at how learning English in a classroom compares to studying English abroad for a semester. I will then examine the effects that learning Italian has on English, and those of English learning on Italian. The language domains I will examine in both Italian and English are (1) lexical access (i.e. the ability to recall words); (2) the interface of syntax and pragmatics (i.e. the interpretation and production of structures which are constrained by contextual features - such as pronouns); and (3) prosody (i.e. sentence stress by placing accents on specific words). In my analysis, I will seek to understand whether these domains are similarly affected by attrition, whether immersion in the foreign-language environment plays a role in the occurrence of attrition, and whether there is a link between second-language proficiency and first-language attrition.My personal interest for this PhD topic stems from my very own background: when I was 15, I was awarded an AFS scholarship which allowed me to attend a high-school year in Nashville, Tennessee. When I returned to Italy, one year later, my parents and I were very much surprised whenever I could not remember words, or when the things I said in Italian did not make much sense. When I was introduced to the field of second-language acquisition and first-language attrition at University a few years later, it all became clear to me: I was - and still am to this day - experiencing attrition on my first language. However, there is still much to be done to understand precisely how first-language attrition works: my project hence addresses some of the gaps in our current knowledge of the phenomenon. Furthermore, I believe that a more thorough understanding of attrition and language learning in general will not only benefit me, but our increasingly bilingual and multilingual society as a whole.