Linguistically-based accounts of attrition may give us an analysis of the properties of language observed at particular points in time. Then, by comparing states, we may try to explain the transition between them but, still, discussion concerning the actual mechanisms of change is typically left aside. The same may be said of studies of language acquisition. To integrate accounts of linguistic states at different points in time with psycholinguistic explanations about the transition from one state to the next, we require a broader, interdisciplinary approach. Sharwood Smith and Truscott’s MOGUL (Modular Growth and Use of Language) is one such framework, adapting Ray Jackendoff’s model of the language faculty to show how real-time processes might drive representational change over time.