: Discovering Variation and Transcription Practice

    : Discovering Variation and Transcription PracticeDue Date: Friday, September 29, 2017Now that you know what a sociolinguistic variable is, you can start training your ears to pick out variation in everyday speech. For this assignment, you need to find five sociolinguistic variables in American English. These cannot be variables we have already discussed in class nor the examples given below. You should report on variation at different levels of language (i.e., your examples shouldn't all be phonological, or lexical, or syntactic variables. Try to give examples from different levels). Please submit this assignment to D2L (Dropboxà Homework #2). Examples:1. LEXICAL VARIABLE: "words for large, sturdy cardboard used for making display posters"Range of variation: posterboard or oak tagLinguistic/Social factors: I think this varies by region. My friends from suburban New York City, and some people I know from Philly, say "oak tag". Everyone else I've encountered says "posterboard". I don't think there are any linguistic factors involved.Social evaluation: I don't think this variable has any social evaluation. In fact, people who say "oak tag" don't seem to know the other form exists, and vice versa.2. PHONOLOGICAL VARIABLE: How the term “aunt” is pronounced. Range of variation: [ɑ] as in "ah", [æ] as in "ant", [ɔ] as in “caught”, the use of the same vowel interchangeably, pronouncing it the same as “ain’t”, and/or using a different variant for the word in different contexts. Linguistic/Social factors: I think this sociolinguistic variable is influenced by region.My friends from Houston say [ɔ] as in “caught” and my friends from Chicago say [æ] as in "ant". Social evaluation: I don't think this variable has any social evaluation. Although, I have noticed that the pronunciation of the term can vary in certain contexts. A person can use [ɑ/ ɔ] when referring to the general concept of an aunt, but [æ] when referring to a specific person by name or vice versa. For each variable, you need to do the following:a) Name the variable (Lexical? Phonological? Syntactic?) and term. b) Describe its range of variation (what variants does this variable display?How many different words are there for this variant)a. Tip if using a transcription, and describing a phonological variable, use the IPA keyboard. Find the link on D2L: Week 3à IPA Tools à IPA keyboard. 2c) Describe the social or linguistic factors that condition this variable (who uses which form, and under which circumstances and how do you know this?) Do you observe any correlation between the use of the linguistic feature and some linguistic or social factor that patterns with it?d) Describe any social evaluation for this variable (is it prestigious, etc.)e) Report on any other information you feel is necessary to understanding the behavior or this sociolinguistic variable.