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In:Variation in Language Acquisition: Unity in diversity
Edited by Laura Rosseel and Eline Zenner
[Trends in Language Acquisition Research 34] 2025
► pp. 222–239

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Chapter 11
Perceived varietal contact and use in the lives of adult migrant L2 learners in Austria

A look at the dialect-standard-continuum

 | University of Zurich
 | University of Salzburg
 | University of Salzburg
Published online: 4 November 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.34.11wir
Abstract
The variationist second language acquisition (SLA) literature has established that exposure to sociolinguistic variation is a necessary precursor to the ability to engage in the contextually sensitive use of linguistic variation. The goal of the present article was therefore to unpack the heterogeneity of second language (L2) learners’ exposure to sociolinguistic variation in the Austro-Bavarian setting. Drawing on self-reported measures of varietal contact and use from 40 adult migrants with L2 German, we demonstrate that, despite the high frequency of exposure to their first language (English), L2 learners are confronted with both standard and vernacular forms of language (especially in the school or work context and among friends), largely irrespective of differences in age, length of residence, and L2 proficiency.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1Setting the scene: Bavarian-speaking Austria as a sociolinguistic challenge
    • 2.2Engaging with sociolinguistic variation in the L2
  • 3.This study
    • 3.1Participants
    • 3.2Tasks and procedure
    • 3.3Statistical analyses
  • 4.Results
  • 5.Discussion and conclusion
  • Appendix
  • Notes
  • References
References (34)
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