Speech in Motion between Ribnica and Ljubljana

This monograph explores spoken language variation among speakers from the Ribnica region who commute daily to work in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capi­tal. Situated at the intersection of variationist sociolinguistics and the social psychology of language, the study investigates how geographically mobile individuals navigate their linguistic repertoires across different environments and interlocutors. Through in-depth case studies of three central speakers and supplementary interviews with eight of their acquaintances from both Rib­nica and Ljubljana, the work offers a nuanced account of language use, iden­tity construction, and linguistic accommodation in contemporary Slovenian society. This research not only contributes to Slovenian sociolinguistics by documenting regional variation in a time of rapid mobility and change, but also offers a broader commentary on the social meaning of language and the emotional weight it carries in everyday life.