Acquiring the social meaning of language variation: An experimental exploration

This research project focuses on the use of the relatively novel methodological paradigm of artificial sociolinguistic language learning to investigate cognitive processes of sociolinguistic acquisition. The aim of this project is to further expand upon the paradigm by assessing the effects of various design choices on learning results. Through step-wise progression toward more contextualisation and ecological validity across multiple experiments, we examine the influence of input distribution of sociolinguistic patterns, socio-contextual relevance and learning stakes on acquisition.