Abstract
This article deals with language death phenomena within a wider framework of languages in contact. A few relevant issues of language death research are critically discussed in order to focus on the peculiarities of this phenomenon as opposed to other outcomes of contact, such as the development of pidgin and creole languages. In particular, the article deals with the role of imperfect native speakers in communities characterized by language shift, with the interaction between language-external and language-internal aspects, and with the kinds of structural consequences that are expected in long-lasting attrition phases. Finally, an emphasis on environmental factors to explain linguistic phenomena is advocated.