A cross-generational study of language attrition in Yoruba English variation in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines the phenomenon of language attrition as one of the major components of generational differences in the use of Yoruba-English code-switching in the Lagos speech community. It is argued that while L1 loyalty may be associated with the members of the older generation, the younger generation tends more towards a preference for English, the L2, leading to L1 attrition. Our study also shows that this generational difference can be accounted for within the context of the social environment of bilingual speech behavior in this cosmopolitan Nigerian setting