Language shift occurs when a community

Position 1: Revitalization efforts, such as immersion schooling and community documentation projects, can slow this process but rarely reverse it entirely.

Position 2: Over successive generations, children may grow up with only passive knowledge of the heritage language, using it rarely in daily life.

Position 3: Language shift occurs when a community gradually abandons its native tongue in favour of a more socially dominant language.

Position 4: Once intergenerational transmission breaks down in this way, linguists consider the language to be endangered.

Position 5: This process is often driven by economic incentives, as speakers perceive the dominant language as offering greater occupational and educational opportunities.