Second Language Acquisition in complex linguistic enviroments : Russian Native Speakers Acquiring Standard and Non-Standard Varieties of German and Czech
Abstract
This collective volume contains the results of a binational research project, based on observations concerning the linguistic behaviour of Russian-speaking immigrants residing in the European Union where they form one of the biggest "minorities". The countries of residence taken into account are the Czech Republic and Germany.
The immigrants are faced with the challenge of acquiring the language of the new environment, and this process is influenced by their native language, Russian. The main research question is: What is the difference between acquiring a related language (Czech) compared to a non- or only distantly related language (German), that is, to which extent is L2 acquisition dependent upon the nature of the language spoken in the new linguistic environment?