This research is part of a larger project which aims to conduct an all-inclusive linguistic study of the language use and linguistic attitudes of Spanish speakers in German-language areas. It builds upon research already conducted with Cuban migrants in Miami, as well as Latino migrants in Montréal.
2025
Migration is as old as humanity itself. Its traces are deeply embedded in language and culture, and its social impact is far-reaching. In the twenty-first century, millions of Spanish speakers are part of various migratory movements, and both the number of migrants who speak Spanish and the speed at which these migrations occur have risen dramatically. Contemporary Spanish cannot be fully understood without considering these human movements, especially those involving populations from Latin America, with countries like Venezuela and Cuba standing out in particular.
Venezuelans, for example, are at the heart of what may be the largest migratory movement of this century, with almost 7.9 million citizens having left the country since 20201, and according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), more than 850,000 Cubans – nearly 8.5% of the island’s population – entered the United States between September 2022 and September 2024 alone2. The linguistic and cultural effects of such large-scale migration are complex and multifaceted, affecting both the emigrants and their host societies. The extent of this influence depends on numerous factors, especially the language and sociocultural characteristics of the receiving environment.
In the German-speaking world, the number of Spanish-speaking individuals continues to grow steadily, with current trends pointing to an increase in migration in the coming years. Bilingual competence is key, not only to integration and cultural development, but also to psychological and social well-being; however, the reality is that this balance is rarely achieved.
In recent years, significant contributions have been made in the German-speaking academic sphere to understanding the demographics, social dynamics, and sociolinguistic profiles of these communities (cf. Kabatek et al. 2022; Loureda et al. 2025; Loureda & Moreno-Fernández 2023), alongside more targeted studies on specific groups and phenomena. Nevertheless, our understanding of the language practices of both first-generation emigrants (LE) and heritage speakers (LH) remains incomplete. Moreover, little is known about the linguistic attitudes that develop within these populations. In contrast, research in the Anglophone and Francophone worlds – especially in the United States – has made considerably more progress (cf. Benmamoun, Montrul & Polinsky 2013; Potowski 2011, 2021).
A deeper understanding of these linguistic processes is not only of theoretical interest, given the structural changes and innovations that often arise outside monolingual norms, but also of practical importance. It is essential for informing effective language policy, supporting heritage speakers’ development, and facilitating the sociolinguistic integration of migrants. Without a robust and detailed picture of these speakers’ linguistic behaviour, it is impossible to respond adequately to their specific needs and challenges. As existing research has shown, each migrant community has its own distinctive linguistic profile that must be carefully taken into account.
The aim of this project, which builds on earlier research, is to carry out a comprehensive linguistic investigation into the language use and linguistic attitudes of Spanish speakers in the German-speaking world.
1 Figuera, N. C. (2025, May). Venezuela situation. UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/emergencies/venezuela-situation
2 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (2025). Nationwide Encounters. U.S. Government. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters
The fundamental question posed by this project is: starting with the notion that language is in constant change, how and to what extent does the language of Venezuelan migrants in Vienna change? From this starting point, the following questions can be posed:
Interviews will be conducted with Venezuelan migrants living in Vienna. The interview is around 30 minutes long and will be conducted by a non-hispanic speaker. Around 25 minutes into the chat, a Venezuelan interviewer will take over in order to observe and evaluate possible register shifts in speech.
With the exception of questions related to migration, these questions are similar to those of the PRESEEA Corpus, with the aim of enabling comparasons between emigrant and non-emigrant speakers of the same linguistic variety.
Whilst other parts of this project will examine aspects of phonetics and phonology (specifically the realisation of /s/, of /ɾ/ before a stop, and nasalisation of vowels), my research will be limited to mophosyntactic phenomena, such as:
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