cSTYLE
Style shifting in context. Sociolinguistic, cognitive and psychobehavioral effects on language variation
PIs: Mason Wirtz, Erik Schleef (University of Salzburg)
While social variables such as age, gender, occupation, etc. are considered to have a high predictive power for the use of sociolinguistically functional varieties (e.g., standard German vs. colloquial language vs. dialect), there have recently been increasing calls to consider the influence of biological-cognitive variables as constraints on language variation (Loudermilk, 2015; Tamminga et al., 2016; Zahler, 2018, 2022; Schleef, 2022; Wirtz, 2023). A related strand of research, cognitive linguistics, shows that differences in cognitive functioning are related to differences in speakers’ semantic richness, grammatical complexity and grammatical congruence (Daneman, 1991; Kemper et al., 2003; Saito & Baddeley, 2004; Hartsuiker & Barkhuysen, 2006). Thus, if grammatical and semantic abilities are sensitive to differences in cognitive capacities, sociolinguistic resources can be expected to be as well. This is because choosing sociolinguistically appropriate varieties is a cognitively demanding task. Speakers have to track social information over longer speech phases and thus over intrasituational fluctuations in formality, distance and interpersonal relationships. As Tamminga et al. (2016: 313-314) for example hold, “socially-mediated accommodation between two conversational partners (…) requires crucially that each partner retain a memory of not just what the other speaker has said but how they said it.” Working memory and/or attentional resources may therefore aid in explaining differences in the cognitively demanding task of choosing a contextually adequate variety (Tamminga et al., 2016; Wirtz, 2023; Zahler, 2018). The overarching goal of the cSTYLE project is thus to determine the influence of cognitive (working memory and attentional resources) and psychobehavioral (cognitive flexibility, perceived adaptivity) factors on sociolinguistic variation. We will also investigate the extent to which the predictive strength of such cognitive and psychobehavioral variables differs from more ‘classical’ macrosociological categories such as age, gender, etc.
LangLife
Life events as catalysts for language variation and change
PIs: Mason Wirtz, Simon Pickl (University of Salzburg)
Collaborator(s): Simone Pfenninger (University of Zurich), Philip Vergeiner (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)
The LangLife project explores from a variationist perspective the role of major life events (e.g., first entrance into the workforce, geographic relocation, entering a new romantic relationship, retirement) and individual differences in event experiences (e.g., the emotional significance of an event, the impact of an event on one’s social life), psychosocial variables (occupational complexity, psychological resilience), and sociolinguistic factors (gender, age at MLE, varietal proficiency) on patterns of individual-level language change across the lifespan. Specifically, it focuses on change in Austrians’ use of standard German and dialect, as well as on changes in affective-attitudinal factors such as local dialect identity and attitudes towards standard German. In merging socio- and psycholinguistic perspectives on language change, and integrating quantitative and qualitative methods, the LangLife project sets out a new direction for variationist designs and agendas that approach lifespan language change not as a result of chronological age per se, but rather as a function of experiential factors complexly intertwined with the process of aging.
MIDLIFE
Additional language learning in midlife by lifestyle migrants
Funding: “Early Career Research Grant” 2024. FWF, ÖAW, and Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (€ 94.415,00)
PI: Mason Wirtz
Collaborator(s): Simone Pfenninger (University of Zurich)
The MIDLIFE project is the first to explore middle-aged migrants’ acquisition of German as a second language (L2), and also the first project internationally to home in on language learning explicitly in midlife. Using a cross-sectional observational design, the study’s emphasis is on (1) identifying socioaffective, contextual, migratory, and experiential factors that contribute to explaining differential patterns of L2 development in middle-aged L2 German learners and (2) addressing the question of how additional language learning benefits them in terms of increased wellbeing, life satisfaction, and in general their ability to function in society. Data from this integrative investigation will make a substantial contribution to research on language learning in adulthood as well as (psycho)social aspects of healthy aging in the migratory context.
DiAL2
Dialect acquisition in L2 German
PIs: Mason Wirtz, Andrea Ender (University of Salzburg)
The DiAL2 project sets out to explore second language (L2) learners’ acquisition of dialect varieties in the Austro-Bavarian naturalistic setting. We focus both on receptive and perceptive abilities. The goals are to determine (a) which variable structures in dialect varieties pose particular receptive difficulties as opposed to the standard German variants thereof, and (b) whether L2 learners acquire and minimic the evaluative judgement patterns of standard language and Austro-Bavarian dialect found in the naturalistic context (i.e., Austria). The results should shed additional light on the hurdles that L2 learners face when traversing life in Austria.
DYNSC
Dynamics of sociolinguistic competence
Funding: Salzburg Stadt: Kultur, Bildung und Wissen (€ 1.500,00)
PI: Mason Wirtz
Collaborator(s): Andrea Ender, Irmtraud Kaiser (University of Salzburg), Simone Pfenninger (University of Zurich)
The DYNSC constitutes two complementary holistic studies in the field of variationist second language acquisition (SLA) investigating how, when and why second language (L2) German learners in the Austro-Bavarian naturalistic context develop sociolinguistic competence, i.e., “the capacity to recognize and produce socially appropriate speech in context” (Lyster, 1994, p. 263). In a cross-sectional study, we combine sophisticated quantitative group-level analyses with person-centered individual qualitative data, the goal being to explore the effects of linguistic, socioaffective and cognitive factors on 40 adult L2 learners’ inter-individual acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. The second study is the first in variationist SLA research to analyze intensive micro-longitudinal data (10 observations per subject over three months). It scrutinizes micro-developmental trajectories in four L2 learners’ production and perception of sociolinguistic variation during initial periods of residence in Austria and attempts to identify relevant environmental and psychological stimuli for change as well as when these are associated with periods of rapid sociolinguistic development. Taken as a whole, the project makes a methodological case to complement cross-sectional data with micro-longitudinal individual data so as to better reconcile generalizability, individuality and within-person variability. The results provide the field of variationist SLA with a more detailed mechanistic understanding of the acquisition and development of sociolinguistic competence in the non-instructed naturalistic sphere.