Intra-individual variation across the lifespan
Results from an Austrian panel study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21226753 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lars Bülow (0000-0001-7365-8514, University of Vienna, corresponding author), Philip C Vergeiner (0000-0002-9044-0610, University of Salzburg) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | s2 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-05 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Linguistics Vanguard (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2199-174X • E-ISSN: 2199-174X |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/lingvan-2020-0026 |
| OpenAlex | W3135807211 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 23 |
This article explores intra-individual variation and language change across the lifespan of eight speakers from a small Austrian village. Four phonological variables in two settings (informal conversation vs. formal interview) are traced across longitudinal panel data that span 43 years. The analysis reveals an increase of dialect features (retrograde change), even though apparent-time as well as real-time trend studies indicate dialect loss in the Bavarian speaking parts of Austria. The panel data also indicate that neither the group means at one moment in time nor their averaged changes are representative of the intra-individual variation of any of the eight speakers. Regarding this non-representativity, the article introduces the classical ergodic theorem to variationist sociolinguistics. Evidence will be provided that change across the lifespan of an individual is a non-ergodic process. Thus, it is argued that variationists have to be more cautious when they generalise from group-derived estimates to individual developments and vice versa
Conversation · Econometrics · Ergodic theory · Language change · Linguistics · Panel data · Sociolinguistics · Sociology · Linguistic Variation and Morphology · Linguistics, Language Diversity, and Identity · Mathematics · Multilingual Education and Policy · Philosophy · Psychology
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| Citations per year | 1.6 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |