| Abstract [eng] |
Language contact after emigration is one of the main factors that can lead to native language (L1) attrition. This research aims to find out whether the lexicon of Lithuanian emigrants L1 experiences attrition; if so, to see what changes in the lexicon can be observed and to provide insights into what sociolinguistic factors have a significant impact on those changes. Research material – L1 vocabulary of the Irish Lithuanians. The paper describes the L1 vocabulary size of the Irish Lithuanians and the factors that determine it, examines the lexical accessibility by observing hesitation markers, and discusses lexical retrieval. Conclusions are made by comparing the results of Lithuanians in Ireland with the results of Lithuanians living in Lithuania (non-emigrants). The analysis was performed by applying descriptive and inference statistical methods and using the R studio program. The results show that the L1 vocabulary of the Irish Lithuanians is smaller than that of Lithuanians living in Lithuania and the difference is statistically significant. In addition, the Irish Lithuanians’ language has more hesitation markers, and the process of lexical retrieval is less fluent than in the language of non-emigrants. Thus it can be assumed that the Irish Lithuanian L1 vocabulary is affected by attrition. |
