L1 grammatical attrition through the acquisition of competing L2 discourse features

A question in language acquisition research is whether attrition can affect L1 grammatical representation, and if so, under what conditions. This paper tests the Attrition via Acquisition (AvA) model, which takes a Feature Reassembly approach to predict how, in case on high degrees of similarity between the L1 and L2, the acquisition of L2 discourse-driven morpho-syntactic properties may affect L1 feature representations after a prolonged change in the speaker's primary linguistic input during adulthood. As a test case, we use the different features (<i>specificity</i> versus <i>discourse anaphoricity</i>) associated with Clitic Left Dislocation (CLLD) in Romanian and Italian, examining the grammars of Romanian first-generation immigrants with either L2 Italian or L2 English (a language without CLLD). Using a context-dependent Acceptability Judgment task and a Written Elicitation task we found evidence for L2-induced grammatical attrition, resulting in the addition of an L2 option without the loss of an L1 option, as predicted by the AvA. Attrition was found for participants who immigrated during adolescence or early adulthood and who are more likely to consider Italian their most proficient and most used language. We compare our findings on attrited L1 grammars to the results of a recent study reporting on near-native L2 Italian and L2 Romanian grammars by Romanian and Italian native speakers. Our findings contribute to an increasing body of literature showing that L1 attriters and L2 learners can end up with very similar grammars and confirm the importance of studying second language acquisition and L1 loss within a broader picture of bilingual development.