learners forget their second language through lack of opportunities for use.
When the focus is on individuals, the more specific term language attrition
is often used; when the focus is on groups of speakers, the more common
term is language shift. Language loss may also be pathological, as a result
of accident, disease or old age (see aphasia).
see also LANGUAGE MAINTENANCElanguage loyalty n
retention of a language by its speakers, who are usually in a minority in a
country where another language is the dominant language (see language
dominance).
language maintenance n
the degree to which an individual or group continues to use their language,
particularly in a bilingual or multilingualarea or among immigrant
groups. Many factors affect language maintenance, for example:
awhether or not the language is an official language (see national
language)
bwhether or not it is used in the media, for religious purposes, in education
c how many speakers of the language live in the same area. In some places
where the use of certain languages has greatly decreased there have been
efforts to revive languages in declining use, e.g. of Maori in New Zealand
and Hawaian in Hawaii.
see also diglossia, language shift, language revitalization
programme
language majority student n
a term used in the US to refer to students who come from homes in which
English is the primary language used. They are contrasted with language
minority students, who come from a minority group and who speak a
language other than English at home.
language minority group n
also minority language group
a group of people in a country or community who have a language other
than the major or dominant language of the country or community.
see also community language, majority language
language mixing n
see code mixing
language norm n
see norm
language norm