Abstract
This paper deals with the possible interactions between sociolinguistic research and endangered languages support. As language shift and death phenomena are increasingly threatening a large amount of the spoken languages in the world, linguists that are leading fieldwork on threatened languages are more and more required to take part in language maintenance and promotion activities. In this paper I will discuss the linguistic and sociolinguistic relevance of such activities by describing a project aimed at the support and preservation of two German minority dialects in Piedmont. Examples of data emerged during the various phases of the project will be discussed to illustrate their more general relevance for further research in sociolinguistics and, more specifically, in the topic of languages in contact.