Standard Language and Dialect in Austria

Abstract

The German language in Austria is known for a number of particular features based on the local dialects and their interaction with Standard German. The speakers are competent to apply linguistic variation to their speech in an interplay between dialectal and standard forms. For the description of the “mixing” of the two extremes for producing actual speech, it is useful to apply the sociophonological model of input-switch rules intervening between two (or more) alternative forms (variable rules). Ranging from dialect and urban speakers across L1 and L2 learning of Austrian German to the use of dialect in mass media, we show that the delicate choice of ISR variables helps explain how sociopragmatic meaning is generated through the application of variation. At the same time, it is shown how dialects are finally merged into a wider spoken standard language in the framework of a pluricentric language. Key words: sociophonology; Austrian German; standard language; dialects.