A Psycholinguistic Perspective on Lectal Coherence across Age Groups

Adriana Hanulíková (Heidelberg University) & Sarah Schimke (LMU Munich)

This project investigates how lectal coherence is processed and socially evaluated across developmental stages. Focusing on preschool children, primary school children, and adolescents, it combines pupillometry and social evaluation tasks to examine the cognitive load and social impact of dialect–standard variation. By manipulating phonological and morphosyntactic coherence in experimental dialogues, the study explores how familiarity and exposure shape processing, comprehension, and attitudes, thereby linking language acquisition, cognition, and sociolinguistic development.