Acknowledgements

I would first like to express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Stephanie Hackert for editing this manuscript with extraordinary care and attention to detail. I have learned an incredible amount in a short period of time from her, not only about writing and editing, but also about precision, clarity, and the importance of thoughtful academic communication. Her comments and suggestions greatly improved this manuscript, and I am grateful for the time, patience, and dedication she invested in this project.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my PhD advisor, Prof. Bernd Kortmann. Over the last years, he has become not only a mentor and trusted source of guidance, but also an enduring source of inspiration — someone whose name I had already encountered on the covers of countless books long before becoming his student. Together with Prof. Christian Mair, he created an atmosphere at the English Department of the University of Freiburg that naturally encourages curiosity, ambition, and growth. In that sense, I hope to remain Prof. Kortmann’s student forever and to continue learning from and being inspired by him throughout my career.

I am incredibly thankful to my second advisor, Prof. Christian Mair, for his support, insightful feedback, and generosity with his time. His guidance and the intellectually engaging research atmosphere he fosters around him have been invaluable to me.

This book would not have been possible without the support of Prof. Katie Carmichael and Prof. Nathalie Dajko. Before my trip to New Orleans became a reality, Katie Carmichael generously shared all the existing data with me, ensuring that the project could move forward regardless of fieldwork circumstances. Nathalie Dajko was instrumental in helping me secure an invitation to Tulane. During my time in New Orleans, they provided invaluable professional and personal support. I am especially grateful to Katie Carmichael for her continued generosity with her time and guidance long after my return to Germany.

I would like to thank Prof. Lotte Sommerer for her inspiration and example, Dr. Beke Hansen for introducing me to quantitative linguistics and helping me navigate methodological challenges, and Miriam Neuhausen for her guidance and inspiration in sociophonetics. Thank you to Prof. Jakob Leimgruber for the support and flexibility that allowed me to complete this book alongside my postdoctoral work. Thank you also to Prof. Alice Blumenthal-Dramé, Dr. Katharina Ehret, Prof. Axel Bohmann, Julia Müller, and Dr. Kyla McConnell for their support and expertise. I am likewise grateful to Dr. Hanna Mahler, Dr. Mirka Honkanen, and Kebrina Bailey. Thank you to my friends and fellow researchers — especially Lisa, Haykanush, Natalie, and Nicole — for their inspiration and encouragement. A special thank you to Jessica and Martin for their technical and emotional support, and to Melitta Cocan for her continued care throughout the years. Thank you also to Tanne Stephens for proofreading this work.

I am deeply grateful to everyone in New Orleans who welcomed me, shared their time and experiences with me, and made my fieldwork possible. Their generosity, openness, and support are at the foundation of this project.

Finally, I would like to thank the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (the German Academic Scholarship Foundation) for funding this project. The stability their support provided was a privilege, and one that I recognize is unavailable to many PhD candidates.

Most importantly, thank you to my parents, who told me I could study anything I liked and taught me to dream big. I have been extraordinarily lucky with my family, and I am fully aware that this sets an almost impossibly high standard for luck in the rest of life.