Consequential choices: A language ideological perspective on learners' (non‐)adoption of a dialectal variant

Abstract

The Challenge Language attitudes and beliefs play an important role in the development of dialectal variation and sociolinguistic competence. How do they explain learners' choices to avoid specific dialectal variants in production? This article employs a language ideological framework to explore why one group of students chose to eschew Castilian Spanish [θ].

Ideology, Indexicality, and the L2 Development of Sociolinguistic Perception During Study Abroad

“…Overall, my analysis supports the idea that learners first attend to the prestige of the unfamiliar TL variety they encounter during SA before developing associations between specific variables and higher-order social indexical values (Chappell & Kanwit, 2021;Davydova et al, 2017). Moreover, Rita's initial descriptions of Cuzco Spanish suggests that this initial valuation often will involve standard language ideologies and comparisons to the standardized instructional varieties that learners are previously exposed to (Carrie & McKenzie, 2017;Grammon, 2021). Rita's evaluations of Peruvians' linguistic practices during the final weeks of her SA program, however, show an expansion of her interpretive repertoire to include ideologies linked to L2 Journal Vol.…”

“…Overall, researchers find that these abilities correlate with higher levels of proficiency, explicit awareness of dialectal differences gained through classroom instruction, and naturalistic exposure to the TL during an immersive experience abroad (e.g. Carrie & McKenzie, 2017;Chappell & Kanwit, 2021;Davydova et al, 2017;Escalante, 2018;Grammon, 2021Grammon, , 2024Michalski, 2023;Solon & Kanwit, 2022). Several studies also suggest a progression in SA learners' ability to interpret the social meaning of dialectal TL forms.…”

“…One proposed mechanism involves language ideologies, or conceptual cognitive schemes that link ways of speaking to kinds of speakers and other social categories (Irvine & Gal, 2000). Accordingly, L2 learners mobilize language ideologies to interpret the social meaning of linguistic differences in ways that reflect particular political and moral interests tied to their positionalities (Grammon, 2021(Grammon, , 2024. Studies by Davydova and colleagues (2017) and Carrie and McKenzie (2017), for example, implicate standard language ideologies in the social-indexical values that L2 learners assigned to specific dialectal TL forms in English.…”

“…Chappell & Kanwit, 2021;Escalante, 2018;Michalski, 2023). Overall, researchers find that language and cultural immersion through study abroad (SA) can facilitate this development for some learners (Schoonmaker-Gates, 2020), and that the social-values that L2 learners assign to variable TL forms often reflect pervasive stereotypes about TL groups and standard language ideologies (Carrie & McKenzie, 2017;Davydova et al, 2017;Grammon, 2021Grammon, , 2024. However, the construction of knowledge in this area is confounded by disparate accounts of the perceptual mechanism that enables L2 learners to interpret the social meaning of TL forms (cf.…”

“…However, the construction of knowledge in this area is confounded by disparate accounts of the perceptual mechanism that enables L2 learners to interpret the social meaning of TL forms (cf. Chappell & Kanwit, 2021;Carrie & McKenzie, 2017;Davydova et al, 2017;Grammon, 2021Grammon, , 2024. Moreover, researchers have yet to explore how this mechanism evolves during a SA experience as learners become aware of linguistic differences in the TL and strive to understand their social significance.…”