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This book constitutes a holistic study of sociolinguistic development among adult second language (L2) learners in a naturalistic setting. Combining results from a cross-sectional and longitudinal micro-development study, it examines the acquisition of both the productive and interpretive skills necessary to engage with the contextually sensitive use of vernacularity in Austria. The studies focus on issues of inter- and intra-individual variation and aim to shed much-needed light on why L2 learners acquire sociolinguistic variation, which aspects of it they acquire, which factors influence it and when they acquire it. Drawing on methodological and theoretical frameworks from diverse fields such as developmental and cognitive psychology, psycho- and sociolinguistics, as well as second language acquisition, the book connects topics rarely found in the same empirical piece, including the role of cognitive functioning and socioaffective factors, the temporal specificity of L2 sociolinguistic development in production and perception, and the issue of group-to-individual generalizability. The studies showcased in this work provide ample evidence that late starters of a L2 in early adulthood and midlife can acquire the skills necessary to successfully navigate the complex sociolinguistic variation within the target-language community, but the process is certainly not one without hurdles.
In his novel investigation of sociolinguistic competence, Wirtz highlights the roles of cognitive and psycholinguistic factors, provides a compelling intra-individual longitudinal design, and carefully analyzes both group and individual data. This innovative and rigorous mixed-methods resource is sure to be required reading for scholars of SLA!
From the advanced statistical techniques to the use of virtual reality, this volume offers new and exciting insights, approaches, and methods at every turn. It dazzles in its specificities and details, yet it never loses sight of the big picture: the central role language plays in our social lives.
This book constitutes an excellent example of high-quality L2 variationist scholarship. Although he challenges the methodological and theoretical boundaries of the field, Wirtz shows himself to be a skilled bridge builder, drawing on robust findings from decades of research but also offering fresh and innovative ways forward.
Zortzi kapitulutan zehar, liburuak helduen garapen soziolinguistikoaren ikuspegi integrala ematen du. Ikasle helduek bigarren hizkuntza batean gaitasun soziolinguistikoa garatzeko duten moduari buruzko ikerketa berritzaile eta zehatza eskaintzen du. Azterlan kuantitatiboak eta kualitatiboak uztartzen ditu, faktore sozialen eta indibidualen arteko elkarrekintza azpimarratzen du, eta benetako esperientzietan oinarritzen da datuak lortzeko.
Mason A. Wirtz is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. His principal research areas include variationist SLA, socio- and psycholinguistics, especially as concerns quantitative approaches, statistical methods and novel approaches to data collection.
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. The Big Picture
Chapter 2. Mapping the Terrain
Chapter 3. The Current Empirical Study
Chapter 4. Unpacking the INTER and INDIVIDUAL in L2 Sociolinguistic Development
Chapter 5. The Systematicity of Outcomes in L2 Sociolinguistic Development
Chapter 6. Signature Dynamics of L2 Sociolinguistic Micro-Development
Chapter 7. Reconciling the INTER and INTRA in Variationist SLA
Chapter 8. Conclusion and Future Perspectives
References
Index