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

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 language change across the lifespan, with an emphasis on how individual differences relate to differential patterns of MLE-induced 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 MLE-induced change in the sociolinguistic repertoire. Qualitatively, thematic analysis revealed that facets of the linguistic marketplace seemed responsible for occupational MLE-induced language change, but also socioaffective drivers such as dialect pride and career-resultant shifts in one’s social networks and contact with other dialects.