Three indigenous West Germanic languages are spoken in Saterland in Lower Saxony: Sater Frisian, Low German and High German. Sater Frisian is the only form of East Frisian still spoken today and is also one of the most endangered minority languages in Europe. Low German and High German are the primary contact languages of Sater Frisian and are spoken by all speakers of Sater Frisian. The aim of the project is to investigate the variation of vowels and f0-timing in Sater Frisian and its contact languages Low German and High German.

Three dimensions of variation are to be recorded in which variation can be expected on the basis of existing research: (1) regional variation in the three localities of Scharrel, Ramsloh and Strücklingen; (2) variation between Sater Frisian and its primary contact languages; and (3) variation between different generations of speakers. The investigation of the second and third dimensions is expected to shed light on the extent to which vowel production in Sater Frisian approaches that of the contact languages among younger speakers, and the role played by Low German and High German as contact languages with different functions and prestige.
Specifically, the project aims to clarify the following questions: Regional variation: Can the vowel systems hypothesised in the literature be confirmed for the three local dialects of Sater Frisian and for Saterland Low German? Does the acoustic realisation of the vowels vary in the three local dialects? Variation between the contact languages: Can the different complexity of the vowel systems of Sater Frisian, Low German and High German that can be assumed on the basis of the literature be confirmed? What effects does the different complexity of the vowel systems have on the acoustic characteristics of the monophthongs and diphthongs? Variation between different generations of speakers: Can current language change processes in vocalism be recognised when comparing younger with older speakers? Is the influence of Low German or that of High German stronger? Stress, vowel duration and f0-timing: Is there a correlation between stress, vowel duration and f0-timing in Sater Frisian and its contact languages? Is the f0 contour aligned independently of the post-nuclear metrical structure and is it therefore free to reinforce contrasts between stressed and unstressed vowels or between long and short vowels as a secondary feature?
To this end, production and perception experiments are carried out involving the three local dialects of Sater Frisian, its contact languages and speakers of two age groups.