The love factor in variationist SLA

Abstract

The love factor in the field of second language acquisition has gained considerable traction since the turn of the century. This article is the first to take a variationist perspective to investigate how multilingual coupledom affects sociolinguistic development in the second language (L2). Participants were 76 users of L2 German living in Austria, all of whom were in a romantic relationship with an Austrian partner. We analyzed the effects of multilingual coupledom on self-reported changes in learners’ use of, attitudes toward, and proficiency in standard German, the Austrian dialect variety, and first language(s), and whether (psycho-)social variables moderate this relationship. Individual differences in psychological and social variables (e.g., adaptability, Open-mindedness, length of residence, orientation toward the Austrian dialect) predicted reported changes in the sociolinguistic repertoire. Qualitative analysis revealed a blended operation of socioaffective and exposure-related factors, which helped explain why, how, and for whom multilingual coupledom affects (socio-)linguistic development.