Network science reveals the early signs of L1 lexical attrition: Introducing the Lexical Attrition Foundation (LeAF) framework

Abstract

L1 lexical attrition is the decline of L1 lexical-semantic abilities due to reduced L1 exposure and/or L2 interference. Semantic fluency tasks are central in this research, but traditional analyses are often inconclusive. To address this, we employed an innovative network science approach to investigate the bilingual lexicon's structural properties. Semantic fluency data were collected from immersed/non-immersed late bilinguals with comparable L2 proficiencies. Our results indicate that L2 immersion led to more integrated and efficient L2 networks. Crucially, immersion also resulted in L1 attrition (only evident in the network analysis). Immersed participants exhibited less densely connected and sparser L1 networks. Furthermore, network measures suggest that L1 lexical attrition occurs gradually, initially impacting network interconnectivity, while information flow and community structure remain more stable. Drawing from these insights, we introduce the Lexical Attrition Foundation (LeAF) framework, offering a network-based perspective on lexical attrition development and laying the groundwork for future research.