The moderating effect of linguistic insecurity on the relationship between students’ L1 attitude and their language shift tendencies

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The predominant theoretical discourse on language attitude and shift dynamics is that individuals with favourable attitude towards their first language (L1) demonstrate less likelihood of speaking a second language (L2) (usually a prestigious language) in both formal and informal communicative domains. A flip side of this scholarly argument is that a positive L1 attitude contributes to L1 maintenance. However, the role of linguistic insecurity (related to L1 use) in shaping the inverse influence of language attitude on language shift remains unexplored, especially in the multilingual context of Ghana. To fill this gap, the current study employs a partial least squares structural equation modelling approach to test the moderating effect of linguistic insecurity on the inverse influence of language attitude on language shift. The data for this study were drawn from 560 secondary school students in the Cape Coast metropolis, Ghana. The findings demonstrate that the inverse influence of language attitude on language shift in both formal and informal communicative domains is significantly moderated by linguistic insecurity. The statistical insights suggest that linguistic insecurity heightens the tendency of language shift from L1 to L2, especially when the L1 attitudes of senior high school students are negative.