Sprachkontaktdauer: Auswirkungen auf den Sprachstand im Deutschen abhängig vom Alter des Deutscherwerbs und Sprach-gebrauch im familiären Umfeld

The intensity of the language contact belongs to numerous sociodemographic variables that influence the language competence of preschool children. This study aimed to examine associations between 16 variables related to the language contact and German language competence of multilingual children. Four-year-old kindergarten children (N = 824) were examined with the language test “Kindersprachscreening” (KiSS.2; Holler-Zittlau/Euler/Neumann 2011). Correlations between children’s and their parents’ age of contact to German and children’s language competence were weak to moderate. The same is valid for the use of German at home. Weak German language skills of children speaking Turkish and Arabic were associated with their limited contact to German both in the family and beyond. Their German language competence depended predominantly on how often German was used at home. All other children acquired German predominantly in day care facilities. Therefore, their German language skills did not depend much on the language input in the family. To sum up, intensive language contact was, at best, moderately associated with age-appropriate German language skills. Significant differences in the command of the German language among largest ethnic or linguistic subgroups could be traced back to sociodemographic differences in the children’s and their families’ characteristics. Active use of German at home was more important for those immigrant subgroups that do not attend any day care facilities before kindergarten age.