The second language acquisition of variation in adulthood and language change

Abstract

Research on the second language acquisition of sociolinguistic variation is grounded in an understanding of sociohistorical linguistics. The patterns attested in language change provide a foundation for understanding the language of second language learners. This chapter provides an overview of research on adult L2 sociolinguistics and shines a light on studies that demonstrate how linguists might bridge the gap between the fields of historical linguistics and second language acquisition (e.g., Giacalone Ramat (1995) for L2 Italian, Donaldson (2017) for L2 French and Geeslin (2002) for L2 Spanish). Moving from studies that explicitly explore this connection, the chapter identifies other findings in L2 research that bridge this gap, and offers suggestions for future inquiry at the intersection of these two fields.