This project deals with the German language in Austria as conceptualised ‘in the minds’ of speakers and listeners. It conducts comprehensive and extensive analyses all over Austria with its focus on language perception and language attitudes of different groups of people. The project intends to answer the following questions: How are standard or near-standard varieties of the German language in Austria conceptualised from the perspective of speakers and hearers? How are they structured cognitively? How are emotions, values, and opinions ‘in the minds’ of speakers and listeners associated with these varieties and by whom? Where does ‘Standard German’ end and ‘non-standard’ begin, or rather, where does the / an ‘Austrian Standard’ end and another standard begin? To answer these kind of questions, the project will exhaustively explore the social functions of language, socio-demographic parameters, and language biographies.