On explaining stable dialect features: A real- and apparent-time study on the variable (en) in Austrian base dialects

Abstract Referring to the so-called “actuation problem”, stability and change are two equally important problems in every theory of language change. However, apart from some exceptions, up to now studies predominantly focused on change, while stable linguistic features have been rarely considered. To address this desideratum and investigate factors that account for stability, the present article combines a real- and apparent-time analysis of the variable (en) in the Austrian base dialects by investigating data from 163 base dialect speakers from 40 locations across the country. The variable (en) occurs as a word-final ending in infinitive as well as in nominal forms, and – with respect to the preceding phonetic environment – shows a high degree of variation within and across all Austrian dialect areas. Although such a high degree of variation is considered a prerequisite for change, the analyses reveal a remarkable amount of stability for several variants of (en) in Austria. As will be argued, this fact can be attributed to both extra- and intralinguistic factors such as the variant’s areal distribution, its frequency, and morphological constraints.