The Development of Sociolinguistic Competence

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce an upcoming Special Issue of Languages highlighting current research that sits firmly at the intersection of sociolinguistics and second language (L2) acquisition: the L2 acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. This important body of research has grown substantially over the past 30 years and has contributed significantly to our understanding of what it means to ‘acquire’ a second (or additional) language, both in terms of the internal processes involved in linguistic development and in terms of the social and contextual factors that may support or inhibit acquisition.

While research on L2 acquisition has traditionally focused on the acquisition of ‘categorical’ features of language, research examining the L2 acquisition of sociolinguistic competence is grounded in the field of language variation and change (LVC) where natural language data are used to demonstrate that language variation is both systematic and constrained by internal (linguistic) and external (social) factors (Labov, 1966, 1972; Weinreich et al., 1968). Researchers working in LVC are concerned with linguistic elements that do not have a single instantiation in first language (L1) speech, but instead have ‘variable’ possibilities across the different speech registers used by L1 speakers, such as the alternation between working and workin’ in English, where both have the same referential meaning, but carry different social weight. Early studies applying the variationist framework to the L2 context demonstrated that like variation among L1 speakers, ‘Horizonal Variation’ (Adamson & Regan, 1991), or ‘Type 2 Variation’ (Rehner, 2002), is conditioned by both linguistic and extralinguistic factors, although the constraints on variation and the relative ranking of the constraints may be different from those governing L1 speech, especially among learners of varying proficiency levels (Adamson & Regan, 1991; Bayley, 1996; Bayley & Langman, 2004; Bayley & Regan, 2004; Regan, 1995, 1996).

The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence is closely tied to the acquisition of communicative competence, which incorporates both the learning of linguistic structure and the ‘internalization of attitudes towards a language and its uses’ through social experience (Hymes, 1972, p. 278). Thus, similar to L1 speakers, L2 speakers are tasked with both accumulating knowledge about what is grammatically correct in the L2 and developing culturally and socially appropriate patterns of language use, including the ability to participate in variation. Over the last thirty years, research has demonstrated time and again that L2 learners, when exposed to community speech norms through study or service-learning abroad, homestay programs, or sustained interactions with L1 speakers, are sensitive to L1 variation patterns and are capable of participating in such variation, thereby demonstrating their acquisition of sociolinguistic competence (see e.g., Bayley et al., 2022; Geeslin, 2022). This Special Issue of Languages showcases the evolving research on the L2 acquisition of sociolinguistic competence that continues to elucidate critical aspects of L2 development, such as how sociolinguistic competence is acquired, where and when it first emerges, and how it develops over time and in response to the surrounding linguistic environment.

We welcome contributions on a range of topics related to the L2 acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. We request that authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send submissions to the Guest Editors ([email protected] and [email protected]) and to the Languages editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to assess their relevance to the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative completion schedule:
• Abstract submission deadline: 30 October 2023
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 11 December 2023
• Full manuscript deadline: 30 June 2024

References

Adamson, H. D., & Regan V. (1991). The acquisition of community speech norms by Asian immigrants learning English as a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 13, 1–22.

Bayley, R. (1996). Competing constraints on variation in the speech of adult Chinese learners of English. In R. Bayley & D. R. Preston (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 98–120). Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Bayley, R., & Langman, J. (2004). Variation in the group and the individual: Evidence from Second Language Acquisition. IRAL, 42(4), 303–318.

Bayley, R., Preston, D. R., & Li, X. (Eds.). (2022). Variation in second and heritage languages: Crosslinguistic perspectives. Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Bayley, R., & Regan, V. (2004). Introduction: The acquisition of sociolinguistic competence. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 8, 323–338.

Geeslin, K. (Ed.). (2022). The Routledge handbook of sociolinguistics and second language acquisition. New York/London: Routledge.

Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J.B. Pride & J. Holmes (eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp. 269–293). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin Books.

Labov, W. (1966). The social stratification of English in New York City. Washington DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Labov, W. (1972). Sociolinguistic patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Regan, V. (1995). The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms: Effects of a year abroad on L2 learners of French. In B. F. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 245–267). Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Regan, V. (1996). Variation in French interlanguage: a longitudinal study. In R. Bayley & D. R. Preston (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 177–201). Philadelphia/Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Rehner, K. (2002). The development of aspects of linguistic and discourse competence by advanced second language learners of French (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Weinreich, U., Labov, W. and Herzog, M. (1968). Empirical foundations for a theory of language change. In W. P. Lehmann & Y. Malkiel (Eds.), Directions for historical linguistics: A symposium (pp. 95-195). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Prof. Dr. Vera Regan
Dr. Kristen Kennedy Terry
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sociolinguistic competence
• applied linguistics
• second language acquisition