In German-speaking regions, dialects are frequently ranked based on surveys conducted by public media and sociolinguistic research, using aesthetic dimensions such as beautiful or ugly and dialect attributes such as friendly or arrogant. Previous research showed that evaluations of linguistic phenomena involve multiple dimensions, including attitudes, extralinguistic concepts, and actual linguistic features. Yet, the extent to which extralinguistic factors and auditory impressions affect rankings and whether they shape attitudes and common dialect attributes remain key questions. Can we identify regional phonetic features that are evaluated as more aesthetically pleasing than others? What, if any, are the implications of such evaluative structures for language users’ production of these features in communication? The proposed project focuses on sociolinguistic phonaesthetics in the D-A-CH-region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). The main goal is to investigate the role of specific regional sound features in language perception and evaluation and to provide a sociolinguistic model for aesthetic evaluations of regional language, integrating linguistic and non-linguistic factors, simultaneously acknowledging the importance of diverse linguistic contexts, locally constituted practices and social factors involved in constructing indexicality, attitudes and evaluations in speech perception. These claims have been identified as pertinent research desiderata over the last years. Within a span of four years, we will perform online perception tests to collect and analyze empirical perception data, seeking to provide insights into the nuanced dynamics at play in the evaluation of regional language variation, particularly concerning the role of single sound features. The initial phase of the project will identify regionally relevant phonetic features and rating categories using modified Implicit Association Tests, in which 80 participants for each region are to allocate single words as stimuli to predetermined categories of aesthetic dimensions and common dialect attributes. Social data of all raters will be gathered closing this phase. The second phase aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the underlying specifications governing the perceptual process regarding the inventories of relevant features and categories identified in the first phase. Experiments with 10 participants per region, a subset of those in the first phase selected based on various social profiles, will involve real-time evaluations using semantic differentials for evaluations of a cohesive spoken text, followed by click tasks and explanations of the raters’ decisions, and qualitative sociolinguistic interviews. The Postdoc on the project will conduct experiments and analyses in seven regions of German-speaking Switzerland, while two doctoral candidates will do so in two regions of Germany and Austria each. The Postdoc will coordinate their work and ultimately model consolidated results of all regions, combining core ideas of Exemplar Theory and REACT, a model for language attitudes. By investigating which features of which language varieties are perceived by whom in what manner, we can elucidate why certain dialects or regions are favored over others, addressing a critical gap within research in dialect attitudes and, by providing a model, advance general linguistic theory of perception of sociolinguistic variation. The proposed project holds substantial social relevance by addressing biases and negative outcomes associated with regional accents, which can affect job interviews and academic evaluations. Our sociophonetic research may improve social outcomes for marginalized speakers by pinpointing specific phonetic features and their social associations, offering insights to mitigate discriminatory practices.
