Abstract
AbstractThis article presents computer supported “language production experiments” (LPEs) as a method for the investigation of syntactic variation. It describes the setup for the investigation of numerous syntactic phenomena and provides a sample study of the German GET passive across Austria. It also suggests that LPEs offer possibilities for the targeted investigation of linguistic variation in various ways. They may be used to explore speakers’ individual linguistic repertoires and an according corpus setup can be used to examine e.g., interspeaker patterns of variation. LPEs also enable researchers to investigate which linguistic factors control or influence syntactic variation.
Highlights
While variationist linguistics has focused primarily on phonetics/ phonology since its inception, variationist research is slowly but increasingly starting to focus on syntactic variation
The following sections focus on the language production experiments” (LPEs) used in the SFB DiÖ: These LPEs are employed within the framework of a multidimensional research project, which attempts to survey and analyze the complex spectrum of variation and varieties of German in Austria, the predominant part of which falls into the Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core
The LPE on German GET passives in Austria consists of five tasks that are used in a setting that aims to elicit the standard language and the dialect, exposing every participant to 10 prompts
Summary
While variationist linguistics has focused primarily on phonetics/ phonology since its inception, variationist research is slowly but increasingly starting to focus on syntactic variation. This article presents an alternative and effective research method that offers solutions to the quantitative and qualitative problems of many other methodological approaches. Our paper attempts to illustrate the potential and the limitations of LPEs when eliciting data on syntactic variation within a large-scale project, namely project part 03 “Between dialects and standard varieties: Speech repertoires and varietal spectra” of the Special Research Programme (Spezialforschungsbereich SFB) “German in Austria. As well as taking a methodological focus, this article presents comprehensive linguistic and sociolinguistic analyses of one selected syntactic phenomenon (the so called “GET passive” in German).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
