@phdthesis{366,
  keywords = {Linguistics, Language use, Dialects, Kitchener, Waterloo, Interviews},
  author = {Sarah Darling},
  title = {German-Canadian folk linguistic perceptions of traditional dialects},
  abstract = {Recent work in sociolinguistics suggest that how linguists view language matters very little when it comes to language evaluations and language change. Instead, Preston 1 argues that linguists should concentrate on the perceptions and attitudes of users of the language(s) in question. This study used Perceptual Dialectology to look at the German-Canadian attitudes towards traditional dialects in Kitchener, Canada. During face-to-face interviews, 24 participants rated 14 German dialects in terms of correctness, pleasantness, and similarity. In addition, social factors were gathered for each participant, and qualitative analysis was carried out on their comments. North/south divisions were found in the ratings for pleasantness and correctness, and elements of prestige were clearly attached to the Standard German dialect. The participants also had a tendency to rate their own heritage dialects higher than average in all categories. The results from this study indicate that dialect speakers face discrimination in social and educational settings. Keywords. German, dialects, diaspora language attitudes, perceptual dialectology 1 Preston, D. (1989) Preceptual Dialectology: Nonlinguists' Views of Areal Language. Dordrecht: Foris Publications.},
  year = {2007},
  edition = {M.A.},
  number = {Dissertation/Thesis},
  pages = {1-114, },
  publisher = {University of Alberta},
  address = {Canada},
  language = {English},
}