Individual differences in event experiences and psychosocial factors as drivers for perceived linguistic change following occupational major life events

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate both quantitatively and qualitatively the impact of career-related major life events (MLEs) on patterns of reported linguistic change across the lifespan, with an emphasis on how individual differences relate to differential patterns of MLE-related change. The occupational significant life events scrutinized here include entry into the workforce, job/career change, unemployment, and retirement. We analyzed survey data from 154 German-speaking adults in Austria who experienced (at least) one of these career-related MLEs. Results from Bayesian modeling showed that individual differences in event experiences (e.g., how stressful an MLE is perceived, how damaging an MLE is for one’s social status) alongside social factors such as varietal proficiency affect the degree of perceived MLE-related change in the sociolinguistic repertoire. Qualitatively, the thematic analysis revealed that facets of the linguistic marketplace seemed responsible for occupational MLE-related linguistic change, but also socio-affective drivers such as dialect pride and career-resultant shifts in one’s social networks and contact with other dialects.